Fintech is steadily transforming the entrepreneurial landscape, helping informal businesses to move into the formal economy and unlocking new opportunities for growth.
Kerry Balshaw, iKhokha Senior Service Designer & Product Strategist, said the most effective fintech solutions are not always the most advanced but the ones that meet small traders where they are.
“What we hear from merchants is that the solutions that work best aren’t necessarily the most sophisticated ones; they’re the ones that meet them exactly where they already are,” said Balshaw.
Removing traditional barriers
She said tools such as Tap on Phone technology, which turns a smartphone into a card payment device, are removing traditional barriers. These include upfront costs and complex paperwork that have long excluded informal traders from accepting digital payments.
“We’ve also seen real uptake of Pay Link and Webstore, which let traders accept payment via a WhatsApp message or a simple online store which opens up digital commerce to businesses that would never have built a website or signed up for a payment gateway on their own.
“None of these tools ask a business to become something different. They simply give existing, active businesses the tools to grow,” said Balshaw.
Building a financial identity
The shift to digital payments is also helping small businesses build a financial identity as every transaction creates a record, which can be used to assess a business’s performance and potential.
She said this data is proving critical as digital track records. Entrepreneurs can access funding options such as a cash advance based on real trading activity rather than lengthy paperwork.
Balshaw said this change is transforming the way businesses work. A trader using Pay Link can sell to someone across town or even in another province, meaning sales are no longer limited to passing customers.
Despite this progress, she said, a significant number of South Africans are still unbanked and remain forced to rely on cash and limiting their ability to adopt fintech solutions.
Less about willingness, more about access
Balshaw said the issue is less about willingness and more about access. Historically, onboarding process have been too complex and fee structures have not suited small, informal traders.
“Fintechs have made real progress addressing exactly those barriers – simplifying onboarding, lowering the cost of entry, and building products around how informal traders actually operate day to day.
“In doing that, they’ve also built something just as important: trust. That trust is what’s allowed fintechs to support this part of the market in a way the traditional system struggled to,” said Balshaw.
Access to credit remains another key area where fintech is making a difference. Instead of relying on static financial statements, platforms are increasingly using transaction data over time to assess a business’s health.
Working alongside traditional lenders
She added that fintech firms should work alongside traditional lenders, using this data to expand access to finance without replacing existing systems.
Balshaw said that adopt multiple fintech products tend to become more resilient, with more stable and growing income streams. Balshaw said this was a key measure of success.
“The more ways a merchant can get paid, and the more of our tools they adopt, the more resilient that business tends to become.
“The most productive move regulators can make is to engage fintechs as partners in policy design,” she said.
She added that those building financial tools understand the real challenges faced by underserved communities.
- Fintech is steadily transforming the entrepreneurial landscape, helping informal businesses to move into the formal economy and unlocking new opportunities for growth.
- Kerry Balshaw, iKhokha Senior Service Designer & Product Strategist, said the most effective fintech solutions are not always the most advanced but the ones that meet small traders where they are.
- “What we hear from merchants is that the solutions that work best aren’t necessarily the most sophisticated ones; they’re the ones that meet them exactly where they already are,” said Balshaw.
- Removing traditional barriers She said tools such as Tap on Phone technology, which turns a smartphone into a card payment device, are removing traditional barriers.
- These include upfront costs and complex paperwork that have long excluded informal traders from accepting digital payments.
Fintech is steadily transforming the entrepreneurial landscape, helping informal businesses to move into the formal economy and unlocking new opportunities for growth.
Kerry
“What we hear from merchants is that the solutions that work best aren't necessarily the most sophisticated ones; they're the ones that meet them exactly where they already are,” said
“We've also seen real uptake of Pay
“None of these tools ask a business to become something different.
Despite this progress, she said, a significant number of
“Fintechs have made real progress addressing exactly those barriers - simplifying onboarding, lowering the cost of entry, and building products around how informal traders actually operate day to day.
“In doing that, they've also built something just as important: trust.
Access to credit remains another key area where fintech is making a difference. Instead of relying on static financial statements, platforms are increasingly using transaction data over time to assess a business’s health.
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