Mastercard has deepened its partnership with Smile ID, a leading identity verification company in Africa, to scale secure digital identity solutions across the continent, a move expected to unlock new opportunities for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by making customer onboarding faster, safer, and more inclusive.
Announcing the extended partnership in a joint statement on Thursday, both companies said the collaboration will support banks, fintechs, mobile money operators, and small businesses in verifying customers swiftly and securely, reducing identity fraud, and expanding access to formal financial systems.
The deal integrates Mastercard’s global identity technology and expertise with Smile ID’s advanced verification and fraud detection tools. Together, they aim to deliver near-instant onboarding across African markets, strengthen protection against synthetic identity fraud, and ensure compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards areas where many small businesses often face compliance challenges.
Mastercard’s Executive Vice President for Services in Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa described the partnership as a crucial step in building digital trust and inclusion across the continent. She noted that fragmented identity systems have long slowed business growth and kept millions including many MSMEs and informal traders locked out of the digital economy. By integrating Smile ID’s platform, Mastercard hopes to create a more secure and inclusive environment for enterprises of all sizes to thrive.
With Africa’s digital economy projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, reliable identity solutions are becoming central to financial inclusion, fraud prevention, and cross-border trade. For MSMEs, secure digital identity verification means fewer barriers to accessing credit, easier compliance with regulatory requirements, and broader participation in digital marketplaces. The rapid expansion of smartphone use across the continent also increases the need for solutions that work seamlessly on mobile channels.
As part of the agreement, Mastercard has taken a minority stake in Smile ID, reinforcing its commitment to long-term innovation and inclusion in Africa’s digital landscape.
Smile ID’s co-founder and chief executive officer highlighted the growing threat of synthetic identity fraud, which costs African banks and lenders hundreds of millions of dollars annually. He explained that the partnership will help counter this challenge by combining both companies’ technologies to give banks, mobile wallets, and even small-scale platforms the confidence to securely onboard the next 300 million users in seconds.
Through the collaboration, Mastercard’s partners including banks, telecom providers, fintechs, and MSME-focused platforms will gain access to Smile ID’s verification tools directly through Mastercard’s ecosystem. Smile ID’s partnerships with local governments and trusted data sources will also enable near real-time verification and continent-wide coverage, making it easier for small businesses to operate across borders and serve new customers.
The companies noted that the partnership builds on Mastercard’s decades-long work with governments, businesses, and communities to promote financial inclusion and drive economic development. For MSMEs, this collaboration signals new possibilities from faster digital onboarding and safer transactions to greater confidence in expanding their customer base in a secure, compliant way.
