South African fintech Paymenow has clinched a R400 million (about US $22.4 million) working-capital facility from Standard Bank Group, positioning the four-year-old earned wage access start-up for its next phase of continental expansion. The transaction, announced on 7 July 2025, is structured under Standard Bank’s sustainable-finance framework, reflecting a wider institutional push to back products that drive inclusion while meeting environmental, social and governance benchmarks. The deal signals rising mainstream acceptance of earned wage access as a credible alternative to high-cost payday lending in Africa.
A Sustainable Finance Milestone
Standard Bank described the facility as a high-impact deployment of capital that aligns with its pledge to mobilise R450 billion in sustainable financing by 2028, confirming that Paymenow met rigorous social-impact metrics before approval. Executives at the bank said the decision shows how established lenders can use balance-sheet muscle to accelerate innovative models that give low-income workers more control over cash flow. By coupling the loan to measurable outcomes, the parties aim to prove that financial wellness and bankable returns are no longer mutually exclusive goals.
Earned Wage Access Takes Center Stage
Earned wage access platforms let employees withdraw a portion of salary that has already been accrued, helping them sidestep informal lenders who often charge triple-digit effective interest. Paymenow chief executive and co-founder Deon Nobrega said the model restores dignity by “breaking the cycle of dependency on loan sharks” and nudging users toward responsible habits through app-based financial-literacy modules. Standard Bank’s Noloyiso Mpanza added that rapid uptake of the service demonstrates the continent’s appetite for low-friction, employer-integrated liquidity tools.
OneHub Integration Deepens Partnership
Beyond financing, Standard Bank has plugged Paymenow into OneHub, its digital marketplace that aggregates application programming interfaces and beyond-banking services for corporate customers. The integration allows employers to activate Paymenow for their workforces without overhauling payroll systems or absorbing additional costs, thereby lowering the barrier to adoption at scale. OneHub also gives the start-up immediate distribution reach across Standard Bank’s blue-chip client roster in 20 African markets, compressing what would otherwise be years of enterprise-sales cycles.
Turning Capital into Continental Scale
Paymenow already serves employees in South Africa, Namibia and Zambia, and the new facility funds entry into at least three additional markets the company has yet to name publicly. Disbursements are executed via PayShap, South Africa’s real-time retail payments network, ensuring workers receive funds within seconds rather than days. That speed advantage, combined with the working-capital buffer from Standard Bank, equips the fintech to handle higher transaction volumes as it onboards large regional employers.
Measurable Impact on Worker Welfare
Internal studies cited by both partners show users reporting fewer missed bill payments, higher emergency-fund balances and reduced reliance on informal credit after three months of using the app. The platform’s gamified lessons reward behaviours such as setting savings targets or declining non-essential withdrawals, turning financial education from a lecture into a feedback loop. Early evidence suggests the approach not only improves household resilience but also cuts absenteeism for employers who deploy the tool at scale.
Investor Confidence Builds Momentum
The Standard Bank facility more than doubles the ZAR250 million debt line Paymenow secured from Rand Merchant Bank in 2023, bringing the company’s total institutional backing to nearly ZAR650 million in just two years. Market observers note that the repeat participation of top-tier lenders validates both the platform’s underwriting algorithms and its credit-risk profile, which hinges on payroll data rather than collateral or lengthy credit histories. As interest rates pinch traditional unsecured lending, the EWA model’s low-default dynamics are becoming increasingly attractive to banks hunting for fee-based growth.
With fresh capital, bank-grade infrastructure support and growing regulatory goodwill, Paymenow is poised to redefine payday norms for millions of African workers. The next twelve months will test its ability to scale responsibly while preserving the social-impact thesis that underpins its sustainable-finance label. If execution matches ambition, the Stellenbosch outfit may soon demonstrate that getting paid on time is not a privilege but a design choice in modern African finance.