Independent · Africa · Payments
The Payments Brief is independent research and analysis on African payments — merchant acquiring, acceptance, SoftPOS, PayShap and digital commerce. We begin in South Africa, written for the executives building the market.
By Attie van der Linde · 20+ years across African payments.
Flagship research · Edition 1
The definitive annual map of how South African merchants get paid — who the players are, how the market is structured, and how it is being reshaped, with the SME merchant opportunity as the hero theme.
In production
Edition 1 is being researched now. Register to receive the executive summary on release and an invitation to the launch briefing.
Payments Analysis
SoftPOS isn't a replacement for the terminal — it's the on-ramp for a new generation of merchants. The real question was never terminal or SoftPOS. It's matching the right tool to the right merchant.
Executive Perspective
AI is changing which parts of work create value. But many organisations still reward the visible output that AI can now produce in minutes. The harder change is not adopting AI. It is changing the scorecard.
AI can improve individual output while reducing diversity across a group. If that mechanism reaches strategy, competitors converge on the same answers, and in African payments they may converge on a template built for somebody else's market.
AI is remarkably good, until it isn't, and it fails in the same fluent, confident voice it uses when it is right. The leadership skill that matters is calibration: knowing which answers deserve verification.
The Payments Brief Weekly
The weekly brief on African payments — read by heads of payments, acquiring and merchant services.
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