Millions of Africans rely on remittances to sustain families, fund education, and power small businesses. The ability to send money quickly and affordably across borders is more than a financial service; it’s a lifeline. South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB), in collaboration with Mastercard, has taken a decisive step toward transforming this reality with the launch of Globba, a cross-border payments platform designed to simplify and secure international money transfers. The partnership is more than a technological innovation; it’s a reflection of Africa’s deepening drive for financial inclusion, digital integration, and continental interconnectivity.
Unveiled recently, Globba, powered by Mastercard Move, promises faster, cheaper, and more transparent international transactions. For millions of South Africans who send money to family members in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and Ghana, corridors that collectively move billions annually, Globba represents a much-needed leap toward efficiency and reliability. As South Africa prepares to lead global discussions on remittance reform during its G20 Finance Track, the launch of Globba not only strengthens the country’s leadership role in modernising payment systems but also reinforces Africa’s ambition to reshape its place in the global financial order.
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FNB’s strategic positioning within the African financial landscape makes it an ideal driver of this initiative. As the retail arm of Johannesburg-listed FirstRand Group, South Africa’s second-largest bank by assets, FNB accounts for 58% of the group’s normalised earnings and continues to lead in digital innovation. The bank’s FY2024 results show R22 billion in normalised earnings, 10% deposit growth, and an industry-leading Return on Equity (ROE) of 36.9%, underscoring its resilience in a challenging economy.
The launch of Globba also fits within FNB’s broader innovation ecosystem. With digital adoption rates at record highs, millions of customer interactions now taking place via its app, Globba leverages existing infrastructure to bring cross-border payments directly into users’ hands, bypassing the inefficiencies of standalone remittance operators. According to Lytania Johnson, FNB’s Personal Segment CEO, the solution is designed to meet a clear need: to send money quickly, safely, and affordably, while offering customers full visibility and control through the app interface.
Globba’s integration within FNB and RMB Private Banking apps provides convenience for formalised users but also represents an intentional shift from informal to formal remittance systems, a goal reaffirmed by Tim Masela, head of South Africa’s National Payment System Department, who emphasised that it helps mitigate first- and last-mile challenges and curbs illegal flows across borders.
Globba’s launch mirrors a broader continental transformation: Africa’s gradual but steady financial integration. Initiatives like the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS), developed under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, are paving the way for intra-African settlements in local currencies. This effort directly reduces reliance on foreign intermediaries and expensive conversions, a problem long criticised by both the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
According to the 2025 Africa Integration Report, intra-African trade now accounts for 16% of total trade, compared to less than 10% two decades ago. Yet, while platforms like PAPSS address institutional payment flows, solutions like Globba target the human dimension of remittances, small business transactions, and community-level payments that sustain livelihoods. In effect, Globba and similar fintech-driven systems form the grassroots foundation of Africa’s financial integration agenda.
The implications are profound. By digitising cross-border payments, Africa not only lowers costs but also strengthens monetary transparency, reduces illicit capital outflows, and supports the AfCFTA’s vision of a seamless continental market. As Mastercard’s Onur Kursun put it, “Cross-border payments are the cornerstone of Africa’s digital economy connecting families, fuelling SMEs, and supporting regional trade.”
Globba’s debut arrives at a critical moment globally. The G20 Financial Stability Board recently warned that the world is likely to miss its 2027 target for making cross-border transactions faster, cheaper, and more transparent. In this context, Africa, long a passive recipient of financial technology, now positions itself as a potential model for innovation.
By combining Mastercard’s global network with FNB’s African footprint, Globba bridges two worlds: global infrastructure and regional expertise. The collaboration’s potential expansion across FNB subsidiaries in other African markets reflects a growing shift in African banks moving from domestic service providers to continental enablers of integration. The long-term vision includes opening Globba to non-FNB customers, an inclusive step that could create a truly pan-African remittance network.
Despite its promise, Africa’s financial ecosystem faces enduring structural challenges. Infrastructure bottlenecks, from weak telecom networks to inconsistent payment rails, still limit efficiency in certain regions. Non-tariff barriers, including cross-border regulations and compliance burdens like FATF grey-listing, continue to raise transaction costs. Implementation gaps remain in key frameworks such as the AfCFTA’s Protocol on Free Movement of Persons, which limits workforce mobility essential for economic dynamism.
Moreover, disparities across Regional Economic Communities (RECs) mean that while Southern and Eastern Africa advance toward payment harmonisation, parts of Central and West Africa lag. Bridging these divides will require not only private-sector innovation but also strong political commitment to integration and regulatory modernisation.
Africa’s cross-border payments ecosystem has long been fragmented, slow, and costly. Sending money from South Africa to neighbouring countries often involved excessive fees, informal channels, or delays that undermined trust. According to the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide database, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region to send money to, with average transaction costs hovering between 8% and 10% well above the global average of 6%.
The introduction of Globba marks a deliberate attempt to break this cycle. Built on Mastercard’s global money movement infrastructure, the platform facilitates direct transfers to bank accounts, mobile wallets, or cash-pickup locations across 120 countries, including 45 in Africa, in near real-time. With transfer fees starting at R30, it directly challenges the region’s historically high remittance costs.
Historically, remittance corridors within Africa have been shaped by migration flows and economic disparities. South Africa alone accounts for nearly 20% of all intra-African remittances. The World Bank estimated that in 2023, remittance inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa exceeded $54 billion, a figure projected to grow as digital platforms gain traction. FNB’s entry with Globba thus aligns with a regional trend: the digitisation of money transfers as a key pillar of financial inclusion.
Looking ahead, Globba’s launch is emblematic of broader trends shaping Africa’s financial future. The next decade will likely see deeper digital integration, with cross-border fintech solutions complementing national instant-payment systems. Africa’s youth-driven mobile economy, already home to more than 600 million mobile money accounts, will continue to push demand for low-cost, accessible remittance tools.
The potential for value-added services is vast: integrating Globba with credit scoring systems, SME payment tools, and diaspora investment channels could unlock new capital flows for development. Strategic projects under Agenda 2063, such as the African High-Speed Train Network and energy corridors, will further link urban centres and ports, enhancing trade and financial movement. As FNB and Mastercard expand Globba across the continent, they’re not merely building a platform; they’re accelerating Africa’s journey toward a unified, inclusive digital economy.
The launch of Globba is more than a product announcement; it’s a statement about Africa’s readiness to partake in financial innovation. It symbolises a decisive move from dependency and fragmented systems to interconnectivity and unified solutions. For FNB and Mastercard, it marks the intersection of technology, inclusion, and purpose; for Africa, it signals a broader transformation where digital finance becomes the bridge to prosperity.
