This has given rise to several payment providers, who all have one thing in common – to make it easier and more convenient for people to transact. Simply put, it’s about access to simple payment solutions… for everyone.

To be a true market disruptor nowadays, fintechs have realised that the biggest impact comes from collaboration. That’s the reason why Ozow and Zapper have partnered together.

Leveraging off each other’s strengths, infrastructure, and markets, the collaboration between the two industry giants will provide consumers with even more choice. Zapper users will now have the option to either pay directly from their bank account via instant EFT with Ozow or can use a card.

Thomas Pays, CEO and co-founder of Ozow, explains that the decision to partner with Zapper was led by the goal of providing its consumers with more ways to pay for goods and services on its platform. “When two competing fintech join forces, the partnership can be much greater than any adversity. This ultimately benefits the 47 million bank account holders in South Africa, all while driving financial and digital inclusion.”

“People often hear the term ‘financial inclusion’, but don’t really understand why this is so big for fintechs like us. At its core, it’s about giving consumers and businesses greater access and choice. This is especially true for many consumers, who have been locked out of these types of services because they don’t have a credit card,” says Pays.

“The decision to partner with Ozow is part of our focused strategy to build out meaningful and lasting partnerships that benefit both our consumers and our merchants. Ozow is proving to be a popular payment choice for consumers in South Africa, and we want to provide our more than 800,000 registered consumers with as many payment options as we can to ensure that they can enjoy payment experiences that work for them. At the same time, we want to add value and convenience to our rapidly growing merchant base by enabling them to accept transactions from as many payment types as possible,” says Zapper CEO, Brett White.

Both have carved out a niche in the payments sector. As an alternative to card payments, Ozow has solidified its position as one of the leading bank-to-bank payment providers in South Africa using banking rails. In comparison, Zapper has gained significant market share in offering QR code payments, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors where it services more than 70 000 merchants through its mobile app.

Apart from providing more payment options for Zapper users, there’s an added benefit for merchants too. There is an immediate cost saving when their customers use Ozow’s instant EFT option, as merchants won’t have to pay the fees associated with card payments.

To pay with Ozow on the Zapper app, consumers simply need to select Ozow as their payment option. During checkout, they will be prompted to enter their bank login details and create a four-digit PIN. They’ll then select the bank account they want to pay from and follow the steps to confirm the payment. To ensure this is secure, consumers will be required to approve the payment on their banking app.

As developing nations, Pays says that most of the technology developed by first world countries isn’t designed for the African market. “Instead, we’re seeing that this is coming from local fintechs. They have a better understanding of what works and what people need. This becomes even more powerful when they work together to drive innovation on the continent.”

Collaboration is the new competition and, as the partnership between Ozow and Zapper demonstrates, the industry seems to be embracing it.