Lipa Payments
Lipa Payments is a South African fintech (founded 2019) that provides SoftPOS technology enabling merchants to accept contactless card payments via NFC and BLE on Android smartphones without dedicated hardware, licensed to banks, fintechs, and enterprises through SDK, white-label, and SaaS models.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersSandown, South Africa
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Lipa Payments does
Lipa Payments (Pty) Ltd is a South African private fintech founded in 2019 by Thando Hlongwane and Roger Bukuru, headquartered in Cape Town with a US office in New York. The company develops SoftPOS (Software Point of Sale) technology that enables Android smartphones (OS 11+) to accept contactless card payments using Near Field Communication (NFC) without dedicated hardware terminals, and also offers a patented Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) consumer wallet (Lipa Pay) for phone-to-phone payments in low-connectivity environments. The product suite includes Lipa SoftPOS (merchant-facing NFC app with PIN on glass), Lipa Pay (BLE consumer wallet), Lipa Web Services (dashboard for terminal, merchant, and transaction management), and integration tools comprising an NFC SDK, white-label application, and Android Intent App.
Lipa operates a B2B2C go-to-market, licensing its technology to banks, fintechs, and enterprises that white-label or embed the SDK into their existing applications. The company is fully certified to EMVCo, PCI-DSS, and card scheme standards, and is one of fewer than 20 firms globally to hold Full SDK with PIN certification from both Visa and Mastercard (achieved October 2023). Revenue is generated through SaaS platform licensing, SDK/technology licensing, and white-label app licensing on multi-year contracts, with pricing not publicly disclosed. Named partners and customers include Capitec Bank (which also backs the investor), Transaction Junction, OXA Pay, Whoosh, Famous Brands, BCX, and Nightsbridge. The company has secured R10 million (~USD 659,000) in seed funding from Imvelo Ventures (a Capitec Bank-backed fund managed by Empowerment Capital) in February 2022, and has announced expansion plans to Nigeria and a broadening of its customer base to individuals, SMEs, and enterprises beyond its original bank and fintech focus.
Lipa Payments firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lipa Payments
- Legal name
- Lipa Payments
- Website
- https://lipapayments.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Lipa Payments is a South African fintech (founded 2019) that provides SoftPOS technology enabling merchants to accept contactless card payments via NFC and BLE on Android smartphones without dedicated hardware, licensed to banks, fintechs, and enterprises through SDK, white-label, and SaaS models.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lipa Payments industry classification
Industry- Product category
- SoftPOS / Mobile Payment Acceptance Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- mPOS & SoftPOS (Tap-to-Phone) Solutions (FSAMADAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO), Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB), General-Purpose Digital Wallets (P2P + Merchant) (FSAMAEAA)
Keywords
Where Lipa Payments is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sandown
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Lipa Payments business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Licensing: Lipa Payments operates as a Software-as-a-Service platform. Revenue is generated through licensing the SoftPOS platform to banks, fintechs, and enterprises who white-label or integrate the solution for their merchant customers.
- SDK/Technology Licensing: Revenue from providing SDK access and technical integration services to developers, financial institutions, and enterprises embedding Lipa Payments technology into their existing applications.
- White-label App Licensing: Partners can white-label the pre-certified Lipa SoftPOS application with their branding for a fee, enabling rapid market entry without building from scratch.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Contact sales for pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Lipa Payments product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lipa Payments provides a Software Point of Sale (SoftPOS) platform that turns Android smartphones into contactless card payment terminals, eliminating the need for dedicated POS hardware. The offering is sold primarily as a white-label app, embeddable SDK, and centralized management dashboard to banks, fintechs, and enterprises that distribute the technology to their merchant customers across Africa and beyond.
Product overview
Lipa Payments offers a unified SoftPOS platform designed for contactless payment acceptance. The core product is Lipa SoftPOS, which enables merchants to accept contactless card payments through NFC-enabled Android smartphones without dedicated terminal hardware. Supporting the core product are: Lipa Pay (a BLE-powered consumer wallet for phone-to-phone payments), Lipa Web Services (an enterprise dashboard for managing terminals and merchants), and integration tools including the Lipa NFC SDK, Whitelabel App, and Intent App. The platform is delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) with PIN on glass support, multi-acquirer capabilities, and alternative payment methods including Pay by Link.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lipa SoftPOS: Merchant-facing SoftPOS application enabling contactless payment acceptance using NFC technology on Android smartphones.
- Lipa Pay
- Lipa Web Services
Products and services
- Lipa SoftPOS Merchant-facing SoftPOS application that enables contactless card payment acceptance using NFC technology on Android smartphones (OS 11+), eliminating the need for dedicated POS terminal hardware. Supports PIN on glass for transactions exceeding contactless limits and operates as part of a multi-acquirer platform.
- Lipa Pay Consumer-facing mobile wallet that uses patented Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology for phone-to-phone payments without requiring NFC capabilities or mobile data. Supports peer-to-peer payments, merchant payments, wallet top-ups, instant settlements, and interoperability.
- Lipa Web Services Centralized web-based dashboard for enterprises to manage terminals, merchants, settlements, and transactions. Features real-time transaction analytics, terminal security monitoring, merchant management, and webhook integration with external systems.
- Lipa NFC SDK Software Development Kit that enables integrators, developers, and businesses to embed contactless NFC payment functionality into existing mobile applications with approximately 11 lines of code. Certified to EMVCo, PCI-DSS, and Card Scheme standards.
- Lipa Whitelabel App Pre-certified SoftPOS application that enterprises and partners can customize with their own logos, color schemes, and branding elements for quick market entry without building an app from scratch or undergoing separate certification.
- Lipa Intent App Android Intent-based solution that allows external applications to wake up SoftPOS directly to prompt payment acceptance, enabling financial institutions and enterprises to integrate SoftPOS functionality into their existing app experience without full SDK integration.
- Pay by Link Alternative payment method that enables merchants to accept payments through transaction links via the Transaction Junction integration, supporting customers who lack NFC-enabled cards or require offline PIN entry options.
Quantifiable outcome
- Cost reduction: No need to purchase or rent POS hardware terminals
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Lipa Payments
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Lipa Payments technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability1 record
Feature10 records
Lipa Payments partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Transaction JunctioncoreTransaction Junction serves as the service provider for Lipa's Pay-by-Link integration, enabling alternative payment methods for transactions where NFC cards are unavailable or offline PIN is required.
- VisacoreVisa certified Lipa Payments as a Solution Partner with Full SDK with PIN certification for Tap to Phone. Lipa is one of less than 20 companies globally to achieve this certification.
- MastercardcoreMastercard certified Lipa Payments with Full SDK with PIN certification and listed them as Pilot Ready. Lipa is one of less than 20 companies globally to achieve this certification.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Lipa Payments competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lipa Payments social profiles
Digital presenceLipa Payments compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Lipa Payments financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lipa Payments leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Lipa Payments funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lipa Payments M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lipa Payments
What does Lipa Payments do?
Lipa Payments provides a Software Point of Sale (SoftPOS) platform that turns Android smartphones into contactless card payment terminals, eliminating the need for dedicated POS hardware. The offering is sold primarily as a white-label app, embeddable SDK, and centralized management dashboard to banks, fintechs, and enterprises that distribute the technology to their merchant customers across Africa and beyond.
Is Lipa Payments a public or private company?
Lipa Payments is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Lipa Payments founded?
Lipa Payments was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Lipa Payments based?
Lipa Payments is headquartered in Sandown, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Lipa Payments make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Licensing is the primary driver. The others are SDK/Technology Licensing and white-label App Licensing.
Does Lipa Payments have an API?
Yes. Lipa Payments offers an Open API and SDK for integrating contactless NFC payment capabilities into mobile applications. The SDK allows integrators, developers, and businesses to embed contactless payment functionality with just 11 lines of code. The platform also supports webhooks for real-time transaction data transmission to integrated systems. The Intent App enables Android apps to wake up SoftPOS directly to accept payments using Android Intents. Developer documentation is at docs.lipapayments.com/docs/Introduction.
What industry is Lipa Payments in?
Lipa Payments's product category is SoftPOS / Mobile Payment Acceptance Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMADAB, mPOS & SoftPOS (Tap-to-Phone) Solutions, with a secondary code of FSAGABAO, POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure.