South African fintech Paymenow has secured a significant credit facility of 400 million rand, approximately $22 million, from Standard Bank. This funding, announced on July 8, 2025, is earmarked for the substantial scaling and regional expansion of Paymenow's early wage access platform across Southern Africa and beyond. The strategic investment aims to bolster the company's efforts in providing flexible financial tools to a broader segment of the African workforce.

Paymenow's innovative platform allows workers to access a portion of their earned wages ahead of their scheduled payday. Crucially, this service is offered without any fees or interest, making it a viable solution for employees facing urgent financial needs. The core objective of the platform is to reduce reliance on informal lenders and costly credit options, thereby promoting financial well-being among its users.

The necessity for such services is underscored by a severe household savings crisis in South Africa, as highlighted by data from Paymenow. The country's household savings rate stands at a concerning negative 1%, indicating that for every 100 rand of disposable income, households are spending 101 rand, frequently resorting to borrowing to bridge this gap. Furthermore, national savings account for only 15% of South Africa's GDP, significantly below the global average of 28%. This weak savings culture leaves millions of workers vulnerable, often compelling them to seek unregulated and high-interest credit to cover basic living expenses.

Launched in 2019 by co-founders Bryan Habana and Deon Nobrega, Paymenow currently operates in South Africa, Namibia, and Zambia. With the fresh capital infusion, the company plans to broaden its geographical footprint into additional African regions where conventional financial services struggle to meet the daily financial demands of workers. Deon Nobrega, CEO of Paymenow, emphasized that this loan represents a pivotal step towards expanding financial inclusion for millions of workers and disrupting the pervasive cycle of recurring debt through a model built on consistent earnings and long-term financial resilience.

Standard Bank views this partnership as an integral component of its broader mission to empower African fintechs. The bank believes that robust collaboration between traditional financial institutions and innovative fintech firms has the potential to redefine the financial interactions between employers and employees, fostering a more inclusive financial ecosystem. The early wage access sector is experiencing rapid global expansion, with Research Nester projecting the market to grow from $30.83 billion in 2025 to over $242.46 billion by 2034, reflecting an impressive annual growth rate of 25.75%.

Paymenow is actively capitalizing on this surge in demand for flexible financial solutions. In 2025, the company is handling more than one million transactions each month and supports close to 500,000 active users, a substantial increase from just a few hundred at its inception. This growth positions Paymenow as a key player in addressing the financial liquidity challenges faced by workers across Africa.