Mastercard has entered a strategic collaboration with Flowcart to embed secure, seamless card payments directly within social and conversational commerce platforms like WhatsApp.
Rollout Across Africa
The partnership will initially launch in Kenya before expanding across East Africa and into other high-growth markets, including South Africa, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, with broader scaling planned across pan-African markets.
The initiative allows consumers to discover products, place orders and complete payments within a single chat-based journey, eliminating the need to redirect users to external websites or apps. Payments are completed within the conversation using embedded links, QR codes or native checkout flows powered by Mastercard Gateway and its network of acquiring partners.
Why It Matters For Merchants
Shehryar Ali, SVP and Country Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at Mastercard, said the collaboration with Flowcart embeds secure, seamless payments directly into social commerce experiences, unlocking new growth opportunities for merchants and expanding digital payment acceptance in one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital economies.
The move addresses a market need highlighted by Mastercard’s 2026 SME Confidence Index, which found that 80% of Kenyan SMEs identify simple, seamless and user-friendly payment methods as a top requirement for future growth.
Source: PYMNTS.com, reporting on a Mastercard news release dated September 7, 2026.
