Visa debuts first data centre in South Africa 

Visa, global payment services giant, has launched its first data centre in South Africa, a significant milestone in the company’s strategy to deepen its digital payments infrastructure across Africa. Commissioned today in Johannesburg, the facility is designed to strengthen transaction speed, cybersecurity, and reliability, not just for South Africa but for the entire continent. The move signals Visa’s broader ambition to support the continent’s digital transformation, especially at a time when African economies are rapidly digitising.

As part of the launch, Visa committed R1 billion ($56,904,500) to support digital growth initiatives across Africa. The investment will back a range of objectives, including expanding access to contactless and AI-powered payments, enabling innovation for small businesses, and creating jobs tied to the continent’s digital economy. 

Speaking at the unveiling, Michael Berner, Visa’s Group Country Manager for Southern and Eastern Africa, described the Johannesburg data centre as a platform for continental growth. The centre will support Visa’s push into emerging technologies such as generative AI in payment services, further positioning the company as a key player in Africa’s tech-driven financial future.

South African regulators also see the development as a major win. Tim Masela, representing the South African Reserve Bank, noted that the infrastructure will contribute to deeper financial integration across the region. South Africa’s strong regulatory environment, coupled with its strategic connectivity via submarine cables and fibre-optic networks, makes it an ideal location for a facility of this scale. It aligns with a growing trend that has seen global tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Equinix increase their infrastructure footprint in the country.

The Johannesburg data centre comes just months after Visa announced plans to establish a similar facility in Nigeria. In March 2025, the company revealed its intention to build a data centre in Nigeria as part of a wider investment push that has already seen it channel over $1 billion into the country. That investment includes a $200 million stake in Interswitch, as well as partnerships with MoniePoint and ThriveAgric to expand financial access for SMEs and smallholder farmers. In Nigeria, the proposed data centre is expected to enhance local payment processing, enable mobile payment rollouts with partners like Hugo and Samsung, and support financial inclusion at scale.

× Sponsored

Taken together, the South African launch and futuristic Nigerian expansion reflect Visa’s dual-track approach: building out physical infrastructure to reduce latency and ensure compliance, while also using that infrastructure to support local fintech ecosystems. Both countries serve as anchors in Visa’s Africa strategy—Nigeria for its fintech vibrancy, and South Africa for its regulatory maturity and continental reach.