Verto Shrinks Africa's Payment Gap From 21 Days to Just 24 Hours

A persistent challenge for African businesses—particularly those in the mid-market—is the disparity in payment settlement times across the continent. While a South African company can typically settle a transaction with London in 1-2 days, the same transfer to Lagos might take 5-7 days.

This inefficiency highlights why intra-African trade remains only 15% of total African commerce—a gap fintech platforms like Verto are actively addressing. According to CEO and co-founder Ola Oyetayo, “Paying Lagos is actually harder than paying London,” which shouldn’t be the case given the focus on growing continental trade.

Verto now processes over $25 billion annually for more than 5,000 businesses moving funds between $50,000 and $500,000 per transaction. The company bypasses traditional banking bottlenecks by utilizing localized liquidity pools and integrated payment rails.

The settlement delay stems from the complex routing through correspondent banks—often in London or New York—where currencies must be converted multiple times while navigating anti-money laundering checks and regulatory approvals. This process adds significant cost (4.3-6.5% total friction for a $10,000 SA-Nigeria transfer) and uncertainty.

Verto compresses this significantly, settling transactions in same-day or next-day timeframes at just 0.75-1.5% friction—a transformative improvement that makes regional trade more economically viable.

One example involves a South African agricultural equipment manufacturer selling irrigation components to Nigeria: the traditional banking route took 21 days and cost $5,000 in fees, while Verto settled the $100,000 transaction in 24-48 hours at just $1,500—turning what was once “too risky” into a profitable trade channel.

While fintech can address settlement friction, Oyetayo notes its limitations: “We cannot manufacture hard currency liquidity when central banks restrict FX access. Instead, we optimize price discovery and match natural buyers and sellers more efficiently than fragmented markets can.”

This highlights the need for broader policy changes to truly unlock Africa’s trade potential—something Verto is helping bridge while advocating for structural improvements that would further accelerate continental commerce.