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Johannesburg hosts Visa's first African data centre

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Visa investing 1 billion rand in South Africa over three

years

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South Africa seen as digital leader on continent

By Nqobile Dludla

JOHANNESBURG, July 23 (Reuters) - Visa Inc ( V )

launched its first data centre in Africa on Wednesday,

capitalising on the emerging economy's rapid growth in digital

payments, company executives said.

Speaking at the launch, Michael Berner, Visa's head of

Southern and East Africa, said the facility was part of a 1

billion rand ($57 million) investment in South Africa over the

next three years.

"Visa continues to be very committed to the growth of the

economy on the continent and building the data centre, which is

frankly one of very few that are built outside of our core

locations, which are the U.S., the UK and Singapore, is evidence

of this commitment," Berner said.

The data centre, in Johannesburg, represents a significant

expansion of Visa's global processing network, VisaNet, which

powers more than 100 billion transactions annually across 200

countries and territories, the company said.

Africa's digital payments economy is expected to reach $1.5

trillion by 2030, supported by rapid advancements in internet

penetration and financial inclusion, according to a 2025

Mastercard-commissioned report by Genesis Analytics.

In South Africa, contactless transactions now account for

over 60% of face-to-face payments, according to Berner.

"When we look at South Africa, we really see it as a digital

innovator and a digital leader on this continent. So having this

data centre here can actually be a launch pad for solutions that

we take across the continent," Lineshree Moodley, country

manager for Visa South Africa, said.

Moodley told Reuters on the sidelines of the event that the

1 billion rand investment was part of a $1 billion investment in

Africa over five years, which was announced in 2022.

Communications Minister Solly Malatsi hailed the data centre

as a vote of confidence in South Africa as an investment

destination, adding it "reduces the reliance on overseas

infrastructure and boosts our national financial sovereignty".

($1 = 17.5638 rand)