Visiting a Client in Africa: The Real Story of POS Terminals and the Future of Payments

I went there to visit a long-time client, but I came back with a completely new understanding of how the African payment space is evolving.

We talk a lot about “leapfrogging” in Africa — how the continent skipped landlines for mobile phones. But after sitting down with my clien, and walking through his stores, I realized the same leap is happening now with POS terminals.

Here’s what I learned.

My customer runs a mid-sized supermarket chain. When I arrived at his flagship store, I expected to see long lines of people paying with cash. Instead, I saw customers tapping cards, scanning QR codes, and even using mobile money wallets — but many of his cash registers only had one old, slow POS machine.

He pulled me aside and said:
“My customers want to pay digitally. But my terminals can’t keep up. They break often, they don’t support the new local payment schemes, and they’re not portable.”

That’s when I realized: the demand is there. The hardware isn’t.

Trend #1: From Cash-Centric to Multi-Payment Ecosystems

For years, Africa was considered a cash-first market. But that’s changing fast — and not in the way Europe or the US did.

In many African countries, consumers didn’t move from cash to cards. They moved from cash to mobile money (like M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, or Telebirr). Now, cards are entering the mix too, thanks to growing domestic and international card schemes.

What this means for POS terminals:

A terminal that only takes Visa or Mastercard is no longer enough.

Modern POS systems in Africa must support:

Contactless cards

Mobile money QR codes

Local payment schemes (e.g., Verve in Nigeria, PesaLink in Kenya)

Trend #2: The Rise of Smart and Android POS
One of the biggest shifts we discussed is the move from traditional closed-system POS to Android smart POS.

Why Android?

Cheaper than legacy proprietary systems.

More flexible — merchants can download payment apps, inventory tools, or loyalty programs.

Portable — many are handheld, allowing waiters, delivery drivers, and market sellers to accept payments anywhere.

Customer showed me a competitor’s small Android POS device. “They can process payments at the vegetable section, at the parking exit, or even during delivery,” he said. “I lose customers when my checkout lines are long. I need that.”

Trend #3: “Unbanked” Doesn’t Mean “No Payments”
We often hear that a large part of Africa is unbanked. That’s true — but it’s misleading.

Many unbanked Africans have a mobile money account. They save, send, and pay digitally — just not through a traditional bank. And here’s the key: mobile money agents are the real POS network.

Agents (small shop owners with a float) act as human ATMs. But increasingly, those agents are being upgraded with POS terminals that connect mobile money wallets to card schemes and bank accounts.

This creates a hybrid system:

Customer pays with mobile money → agent uses POS → merchant gets settlement in bank or wallet.

This is uniquely African. And it’s driving POS adoption faster than any traditional banking push.

Trend #4: The Demand for Instant Settlement
Another major discussion point: settlement speed.

In many Western markets, merchants accept 2–3 day settlement because the system is stable. In Africa, small merchants operate on razor-thin margins. They need their money now.

told me:
“If a POS terminal offers next-day settlement, I won’t buy it. If it offers instant settlement to my mobile wallet or bank account, I’ll pay more.”

This is a huge driver. Fintechs and POS providers that offer instant or same-day settlement are winning the market.

What This Means for POS Providers
If you’re selling POS terminals or payment solutions into Africa, here’s what the market is telling us:

Go Android-first – it’s more adaptable, cheaper, and easier to support remotely.

Localize the payment methods – support for mobile money QR codes and local card schemes is non-negotiable.

Offer fast settlement – even if it costs a small fee, instant liquidity is a killer feature.

Think about power and connectivity – devices need long battery life, offline mode, and dual SIM support for network redundancy.

Final Takeaway
Africa is not one market — it’s 54 countries with different regulators, currencies, and habits. But across many of them, one truth is emerging: the POS terminal is becoming the central nervous system of small business.

Cash won’t disappear overnight. But the merchants who want to grow? They’re already looking