South Africa’s Street Wallet raises $350,000 to expand QR payments for informal traders

Street Wallet, a South African mobile payment fintech, has raised $350,000 (R6.2 million) in funding at a valuation of $2 million (R35.5 million). The raise, led by undisclosed investors, will help the company deepen its reach into South Africa’s informal economy, grow sales, and expand operations nationwide.

Founded in 2021 by Kosta Scholiadis, Street Wallet aims to solve what he calls “a simple but critical problem” in the informal economy. The company targets informal traders and service providers, from street vendors to car guards and township shopkeepers—many of whom cannot accept cards or digital payments because of their working environments, unreliable data, and security on the streets.

Street Wallet offers vendors lanyard cards with QR codes linked to their profile. Customers who want to pay or give a tip scan the code using their smartphone and pay via Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, SnapScan, Zapper, or Scan-To-Pay. Vendors get instant SMS confirmations, and the day’s takings are converted overnight into Standard Bank Instant Money Vouchers, withdrawable at ATMs or retail partners the next morning.

According to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the country has about 3.9 million unbanked and underbanked, many avoiding formal banking due to costs, complexity, and mistrust. Scholiadis said that Street Wallet is banking on the fact that traders value speed and liquidity above all else.

“If a street vendor sells stock today, they need that cash tomorrow to buy more. Waiting two to three days for settlement, as with many POS providers, kills sales momentum,” Scholiadis said.

Street Wallet charges a 5% transaction fee in its street market segment, with reduced rates for business-to-business partnerships that bring in large user volumes. Current use cases range from car washes and petrol attendants to tip-based services, with plans to move into tourism and wage disbursements.

The South African payments space is crowded with players like SnapScan, Zapper, PayShap, Yoco, and mobile money platforms. But Scholiadis said Street Wallet has carved out a niche in low-cost devices like a QR card instead of an R1,000 (about $57) card machine, and quick access to cash.

Street Wallet plans to grow across three verticals, including individual street traders, business-led merchant networks, and wage payments, which the company aims to roll out in Johannesburg by year-end, following its Cape Town and Durban launches. Street Wallet is also building AI-driven analytics tools to give merchants personalised transaction insights without needing a dedicated data team.

“This funding is a strong vote of confidence in our vision to empower informal traders,” said Scholiadis. “We are building a financial ecosystem for those left out of the digital economy, and we are just getting started.”

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