In the heart of Malawi’s growing FinTech sector, PayChangu is carving out a strong reputation for simplifying payments and enabling financial inclusion. This homegrown digital payment platform is transforming how businesses (large and small) collect and process payments locally and internationally.
Founded in 2021 and officially licensed by the Reserve Bank of Malawi in July 2024, PayChangu has already facilitated over MWK 7 billion in transactions and supports more than 4,000 active merchants.
Its platform offers flexible payment options via mobile money, card payments, and most recently, instant direct bank transfers, which have gained traction with high-value industries such as real estate, car dealerships, hardware suppliers, and betting companies.
“Our instant direct transfer service is solving a big challenge for high-volume sectors,” said Joshua Mwendo, Chief Operations Officer at PayChangu. “Instead of writing multiple cheques, a betting company can now disburse up to MWK 500 million in one go through our system. This level of efficiency is what businesses need.”
In addition to offering APIs for developer integration and a robust payment gateway, PayChangu is contributing to the digitization of Malawi’s economy one transaction at a time.
However, Mwendo acknowledged the challenges of operating in an emerging FinTech environment. “Regulation is evolving. The innovations are moving faster than the regulators’ understanding. But we appreciate the efforts by the Reserve Bank of Malawi to bridge that gap and build knowledge about modern digital platforms like ours.”
He also called on initiatives like #40Days40FinTechs to continue supporting the FinTech ecosystem in Malawi with capacity building, regulatory engagement, and regional collaboration. “Malawi is still a fresh, untapped market for FinTech. The support we get now will define how far we can go in building a fully inclusive digital economy.”
PayChangu featured on Day 29 of the #40Days40FinTechs initiative, a project by HiPipo and partners including the COMESA Business Council, designed to showcase and support transformative FinTech solutions across Africa.
Since inception, the initiative has highlighted over 200 FinTech innovators from East and Southern Africa, helping them access technical guidance, storytelling platforms, and inclusive finance tools like Level One Project, Mojaloop, and Open Source Software frameworks.
As PayChangu looks to scale beyond Malawi, its story is a testament to how homegrown innovation when combined with regulatory support and strategic partnerships can unlock new possibilities for financial inclusion and economic growth.
