About 39.9% of respondents indicated that invoices are normally completed within a day or less in South Africa, while Nigeria was closely behind at 39.7%, taking the lead in terms of invoice processing speed.

South Africa is leading the digital revolution of B2B payments in Africa, according to a new research.

Electronic transfers accounted for more than 82% of the $994 billion in company-to-business transactions in South Africa, according to a survey by commercial payment platform Duplo.

The study looked at survey data from 1,218 participants who represented different firms in the following areas:

Nigeria
Ghana
Kenya
South Africa

The contributors’ backgrounds included a range of ages, business sizes, revenues, and industries.

With a slim margin, South Africa took the lead in the speed at which invoices were processed. Invoices are frequently completed in South Africa within a day or less, according to about 39.9% of respondents, while Nigeria was close behind at 39.7%.

Kenya was the country with the highest percentage of respondents who said their payment systems were fully automated or semi-automated, at 83.4%. In terms of payment automation, Nigeria recorded 79.9%, South Africa reported 71.7%, and Ghana reported 67.2%.

According to the study, mobile money use is more common in Kenya (27.2%) and Ghana (30.4%) than in Nigeria (10.7%) and South Africa (7.6%). This is most likely because of the popularity of platforms like M-PESA in Kenya and MTN Mobile Money in Ghana.

“Despite a number of obstacles, Africa’s B2B payments market is poised for rapid development and innovation, heralding a new era of opportunities and expansion for the continent’s business environment. According to Yele Oyekola, CEO and Co-Founder of Duplo, “The possibility to automate accounts payable and receivable and improve other elements of the B2B payments process has significant potential to minimize payment delays, enhance cash flow, and drive growth for businesses throughout the continent.

“The rising use of digital solutions also signals a change in the dynamics of the workplace and puts financial professionals in a better position to benefit their organizations. We are looking forward to having a significant impact on how these potential are realized and how technological solutions are provided to promote corporate growth in Africa.

South Africa has actively pushed for the digitization of its payment infrastructure. PayShap was introduced in March 2023 as a consequence of cooperation between the South African Reserve Bank and BankServ, a clearing house operated by South African commercial banks. This real-time, interbank digital payments service seeks to make digital transactions simple and quick.