The firm says it is rolling out new "standards and solutions" which will accelerate the processing speed for card transactions. ACI Worldwide is onboard to help acquirers adopt the real-time transaction processing standards. This means merchants in South Africa will receive faster payouts, empowering businesses with better cashflow management and faster funds availability. This, in turn, says Mastercard, provides firms with more visibility and control over their funds, frees up capital and increases the velocity of money in the economy. In the future, Mastercard will also enable issuing banks in South Africa - and around the globe - to process real-time card payments, providing consumers with increased transparency, faster payments, and real-time insights into their funds. “We are excited to announce this initiative, which signals a significant leap forward in the modernisation of payments in South Africa. As consumer expectations and the needs of businesses change, we are ensuring payments meet the evolving speed of customers’ lives," says Gabriel Swanepoel, Southern Africa country manager, Mastercard. South African Reserve Bank is working on a National Payments System Strategy Vision 2025 as it looks to drive financial inclusion through digitisation. Last year, the country began the roll out of Payshap, a low value, interbank, real-time digital payments service.