Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, has introduced a feature in Ghana that enables seamless card-to-wallet and wallet-to-card transfers – giving users more flexibility in how they access, move, and use their money.
This functionality allows customers to transfer funds directly between their prepaid cards and mobile money wallets, regardless of which they use as their primary store of value. Whether topping up a card from a wallet or cashing out from card to wallet, the service gives users full control over how they manage their funds across platforms.
Currently enabled through Onafriq’s partnerships with First Atlantic Bank (FAB), and Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), this feature reflects a broader trend in African payments: bridging the gap between mobile money, the continent’s most widespread financial tool – and cards, which offer access to both physical and online transactions.
“This feature is about giving people the freedom to move money the way that works best for them,” said Ike Anison, Country Director for Onafriq Ghana. “We know mobile money is the dominant store of value for millions of Africans, but it isn’t always accepted for all types of transactions. By linking wallets to cards, we’re giving users more options to transact across both local and global ecosystems.”
The introduction of this capability follows Onafriq’s acquisition of Global Technology Partners (GTP) in 2023. That acquisition was a strategic move to unlock new use cases for mobile money like card interoperability by allowing users to fund and defund cards in real time using their mobile wallets. This helps bring mobile money in line with globally accepted ways of paying, ultimately making it easier for Africans to participate in the digital economy on their own terms.
According to the Bank of Ghana’s May 2024 Summary of Economic and Financial Data, Ghana had over 68 million registered mobile money accounts and nearly 24 million active users – underscoring the growing demand for flexible, digital-first financial tools.
Franklin Gbedzi, Chief Information Officer at First Atlantic Bank commented: “This is a practical, powerful feature. By connecting mobile wallets and cards, we’re giving our customers the ability to move money more intuitively and access services that meet them where they are.”
Alexander Forson, Head, E-Business at ADB added: “We’re proud to work with Onafriq on a solution that promotes inclusion and financial independence. It’s a step forward for customers who want to better control how and where they use their funds.”
Onafriq continues to build Africa’s most connected payments network, linking almost a billion mobile wallets and 500 million bank accounts across the continent. The expansion of card-to-wallet and wallet-to-card features is a key milestone in its journey to make moving money across Africa – and beyond – as easy as making a phone call.
About Onafriq
Onafriq is an omnichannel network of networks, making borders matter less by providing our partners with a single pathway to unlock the full power of cross-border and cross-platform payment solutions. With a network spanning 40 African markets, Onafriq connects almost a billion mobile money wallets, and 500 million bank accounts, enabling domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuing and processing, agency banking, and treasury services. By connecting global and regional enterprises, mobile network operators, money transfer operators, banks, fintechs, global development organisations, and online and offline merchants, supported by world-class regulatory and compliance capabilities and a strong regional presence in 10 offices in Africa, and others in the UK, US, and China, Onafriq is ushering in a new era of access for people across the African continent and beyond.
