As online services and digital payments expand across Africa, Mastercard is investing in fraud prevention, threat intelligence gathering, and the resilience of payment systems.
Africa's digital economy is demonstrating rapid growth, opening up new opportunities while simultaneously creating new risks. By strengthening security in payments, identification, and digital infrastructure, Mastercard helps build a reliable foundation for long-term and comprehensive development.
The pace of acceleration in the continent's digital economy has surpassed forecasts. From Lagos to Nairobi, from Johannesburg to Casablanca—more people are making online transactions, small businesses are adopting digital platforms, and governments are investing in infrastructure for a connected future.
However, there is a paradox in this progress: the same digital platforms that drive Africa's growth are becoming new entry points for cybercriminals. As Mastercard and its partners strive to integrate more people and businesses into the digital environment, the issue of protection has become as critical as the connection process itself.
The opportunities for Africa are immense, but they are based on trust. Every time a person pays for a purchase with their phone or a small business owner accepts a digital payment for the first time, they express confidence in the system behind that transaction. If this confidence is not protected, there is a risk of undermining the achieved growth.
The scale of the problem is significant. According to INTERPOL's assessment of cyber threats in Africa for 2025, cyber incidents on the continent resulted in estimated financial losses exceeding $3 billion between 2019 and 2025. The most costly threats include online fraud, ransomware, and business email compromise.
In the second quarter of 2024, the number of cyberattacks targeting African organizations increased by 37% compared to the previous year, with South Africa and Egypt recording the highest rates of ransomware detection in the region. The global situation is also a major concern. According to Statista, the cost of cybercrime is projected to reach $15.63 trillion annually by 2029, nearly doubling from $9.2 trillion in 2024.
In the financial services sector, specifically, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks grew by 23% between 2023 and 2024. This increase is attributed to more sophisticated botnets and rising geopolitical tensions, according to a joint report by FS-ISAC and Akamai.
These figures matter because behind each one are real consequences: lost revenue for businesses, loss of consumer trust, and weakening of institutions that have worked to build their systems. On a continent where millions of people are gaining access to formal financial services for the first time—often through mobile money and digital wallets—the consequences of a breach go far beyond the balance sheet.
In 2025 alone, Mastercard processed 175 billion transactions, using its analytical data and advanced data science to identify vulnerabilities faster and more accurately, thereby strengthening the protection of the entire ecosystem.
The response to the growing threat landscape is based on prediction, not reaction. The company's approach to cybersecurity combines real-time decision-making, identity verification, fraud prevention, and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to detect threats before they occur. This capability is continuously enhanced through AI and tokenization.
AI helps detect and respond to threats in real time by using behavioral models to stop fraud before it happens. Simultaneously, tokenization protects sensitive data by replacing real information with secure digital tokens that are never revealed. Together, these measures reduce the value of data for criminals, minimizing the damage from breaches and fostering safe digital interaction.
A central element of this approach is Recorded Future, which Mastercard acquired in 2024 to assist governments and businesses in predicting risks, enhancing resilience, and ensuring trust in the digital economy. Combined with Mastercard's existing infrastructure for cyber risk assessment and early vulnerability detection, these capabilities allow organizations to move from reactive defense to genuine foresight and proactive protection.
The results speak for themselves. Over the past three years, Mastercard's Safety Net technology has helped prevent potential fraud losses amounting to nearly $50 billion within its network. Payments Resiliency systems provide protection for financial institutions during outages, including those caused by cyberattacks, ensuring the continuous operation of critical payment infrastructure when it is needed most.
Since 2019, Mastercard has invested over $12.6 billion in cybersecurity innovations and supported the development of over 20 cybersecurity startups through programs like Start Path. This is now an integral part of the company's vision for the future of digital commerce.
However powerful the technology may be, it cannot ensure the security of the digital economy in isolation. The ecosystem is deeply interconnected, encompassing payments, identity, data, and infrastructure. Its protection requires close collaboration between industries and between the public and private sectors.
This approach is reflected in the launch of the Mastercard Cybersecurity Center of Excellence for Africa—a pan-African platform that brings together governments, financial institutions, businesses, and cybersecurity leaders to enhance digital resilience. Initiatives include collecting Africa-focused intelligence, cyberattack readiness programs, and executive roundtables.
Across Africa, Mastercard collaborates with financial institutions and fintech companies to embed secure infrastructure into digital platforms, enabling safe and scalable innovation. Partnerships with telecommunications providers such as MTN Group and Airtel Africa extend secure digital payments to underserved communities, supporting financial inclusion, which is a central element of the continent's broader economic ambitions.
Mastercard also engages with regulators, including the South African Reserve Bank, to support secure national payment systems and digital identity frameworks. Such cooperation helps create a safer, interoperable, and more robust digital ecosystem across Africa.
When the ecosystem works collectively—governments, banks, fintech companies, telecom providers, and tech companies—we are not just protecting transactions; we are creating conditions for inclusive and sustainable growth for people and businesses across Africa.
As Africa's digital economy matures, the link between growth and security will only deepen. The continent's young, increasingly connected population represents a huge opportunity, but realizing this potential depends on building a digital infrastructure that people and businesses can trust.
Mastercard's commitment to this effort, reflected in its investments, technologies, and partnerships across the continent, helps lay this foundation. By strengthening the architecture of trust underlying every transaction, the company plays a crucial role in ensuring that Africa's digital promises translate into long-term and comprehensive prosperity for all.