by Sophie Kafuti, General Manager for Visa in the DRC

For years, efforts to modernize payments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have focused mainly on expanding access to digital financial services, with the aim of enabling more people to make transfers and payments electronically. Progress has been significant, driven largely by the rise of mobile money and the gradual expansion of mobile connectivity across the country.

Yet today, with nearly 80% of transactions still made in cash, the reality is clear: access alone is not enough. The shift to a digital economy now depends on expanding where digital payments can actually be used. This is essential for sustainable financial inclusion, the formalization of economic activity, and better traceability of transactions. When merchants and businesses can accept electronic payments in their daily operations, it helps broaden the tax base, improve public revenue collection, expand access to credit, and support a more transparent, resilient, and integrated economy.

Without digital payments, an economy remains structurally constrained

Owning an account, a card, or a mobile wallet has limited value if these tools cannot be used widely and regularly. In the DRC, many consumers now have access to digital payment tools but still rely on cash because too few merchants accept them. This gap limits the effective use of digital payments and slows economic transformation.

This disconnect, between access to digital payment tools and their actual use, continues to hinder the transition to a truly digital and formal economy. Until digital payments are widely accepted by street vendors, neighborhood shops, SMEs, service providers, at border posts, and within public administrations, transactions will remain largely informal, and cash will remain the default. Expanding the ability to accept digital payments is therefore key to formalizing the economy, improving transaction traceability, and gradually integrating economic actors into the financial and fiscal system.

This becomes even more important as usage shifts toward e-commerce and digital services. Accepting payments today no longer means simply having a terminal. It requires offering payment experiences that are simple, fast, and secure, both in physical stores and across digital channels. For SMEs, these capabilities directly affect competitiveness, access to new markets, and customer loyalty. When payments are smooth and reliable, transactions go through and businesses grow. When processes are complex or unreliable, purchases are abandoned, limiting growth, formalization, and long-term viability.

What the DRC Payment Acceptance Study Reveals

Findings from a recent study on Congolese SMEs highlight the economic importance of digital payments.

According to the study, 74% of SMEs that have already adopted digital payment solutions plan to accelerate their digitalization, suggesting that the experience is seen as positive and value-creating. Businesses cited several benefits, including improved security compared to handling cash, more efficient sales management, and stronger customer relationships.

The study also points to a significant missed opportunity. Nearly a quarter of businesses operating only in cash report losing sales because customers do not have enough cash at the time of purchase. In other words, the lack of payment options directly limits economic activity.

For SMEs, Accepting Digital Payments Is a Growth Decision

These findings are particularly important in a country where SMEs form the backbone of the economy. For these businesses, adopting digital payments is not about modernization. It is about survival and growth.

The payment experience plays a central role. When customers can pay easily, by card, digital wallet, or online, businesses see higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned transactions. Globally, secure and optimized payment processes improve authorization rates and convert more purchase attempts into completed sales, supported in part by technologies such as tokenization and embedded payments.

Accepting electronic payments allows merchants to reach a broader customer base, reduce exposure to risks linked to cash, and build a record of transactions. This traceability is often the first step toward gaining access to credit, insurance, and other formal financial services.

Expanding access to affordable and easy-to-use digital payment solutions is therefore essential to anchoring financial inclusion in the real economy.

Interoperability and Usage Must Go Together

Digital payments cannot scale sustainably without a fully interoperable ecosystem. Ongoing initiatives in the DRC are moving in this direction, through the development of shared infrastructure and the gradual interconnection of banks, microfinance institutions, and mobile money operators. This convergence is necessary to scale digital payments, deepen financial inclusion, and support the gradual formalization of the economy.

For both merchants and consumers, simplicity is critical. An effective payment system must work regardless of the bank, institution, or mobile wallet used. Without interoperability, usage remains fragmented, limiting impact and slowing adoption.

Why Acceptance Networks Matter

In this context, large-scale payment networks are essential. They connect local solutions to international standards of security, reliability, and performance, while making it easier for merchants, SMEs, and public institutions to operate within the digital economy.

The issue is not only technological. It is also economic and social. Building trust is key to encouraging consumers to adopt digital payments over time and to encouraging merchants to invest in the necessary tools. For example, the ability to pay digitally for everyday purchases such as fruit or bread would allow small vendors to better manage cash flow, secure their income, and eventually access financing to grow their businesses.

A Tool for Formalization and Economic Sovereignty

Beyond commercial use, digital payments also play a key macroeconomic role. An economy where payments are traceable, largely conducted in local currency, and processed through domestic infrastructure is more transparent, inclusive, and resilient. Monetary authorities have recognized this, positioning digital payments as a central tool for economic modernization, strengthening the use of the Congolese franc, and reducing reliance on foreign currencies in domestic transactions.

In this context, the development of the national payment switch is particularly important. As a strategic infrastructure, it enables interoperability among institutions, centralizes domestic flows, and prioritizes settlement in local currency. By anchoring daily payments within national systems, it supports dedollarization efforts, improves the transmission of monetary policy, and strengthens the payments ecosystem.

From a public finance perspective, the expansion of digital payments is also becoming a key fiscal tool. By increasing digital payment usage among merchants, service providers, and public institutions, the state can improve transaction traceability, reduce revenue leakage, and expand the formal economic base over time. Digital payments are therefore not just a convenience. They are a structural tool for fiscal sustainability, monetary sovereignty, and stronger state capacity.

From Access to Daily Use

The DRC has laid solid foundations: a stronger regulatory framework, major investments in digital infrastructure, and growing adoption of mobile financial services.

The challenge now is to turn access into regular use. The study shows that when businesses have the right tools, adoption accelerates naturally.

Digital payments must now be integrated into everyday life, on street corners, in shops, online, on mobile, and across all routine transactions. The more businesses have access to simple, interoperable, and secure payment solutions, the more digital payments become the norm rather than the exception.

Ultimately, the success of the DRC’s transition to digital payments depends on a simple condition: people must be able to pay digitally everywhere, easily, and with confidence.

Meeting this condition will allow the country to move from a cash-based economy to a digital one, supporting growth, financial inclusion, and sustainable development.