Johannesburg: TECHz – News Desk
South African fintech company Ozow has officially partnered with First National Bank (FNB) and Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) to unveil a new application programming interface (API)-drivenOzow, FNB & RMB Launch Real-Time API Payments payment solution.
The collaboration marks a significant shift in the country’s payments landscape, replacing traditional electronic fund transfer (EFT) processes with direct, real-time, authorisation-led transactions. Enabled entirely through Ozow’s platform, the new payment API allows digital merchants to process transactions directly via the established banking infrastructure of FNB and RMB. This direct integration effectively eliminates the need for manual EFT steps and outdated practices such as screen scraping.
At checkout, users simply select the FNB or RMB payment option and enter their bank account number. They are then sent a secure payment request, which prompts them to authenticate the transaction within their familiar banking app using a PIN or biometric security. Once authorised by the user, the payment is processed in real time, delivering instant confirmation to both the customer and the merchant.
According to Rachel Cowan, interim CEO of Ozow, this level of integration is essential for modern commerce. Account-to-account payments have always been central to Ozow’s model, and Cowan noted that partnerships like this are critical in advancing a more connected payments ecosystem that improves payment performance, enhances security, and simplifies how merchants manage transactions at scale.
The shift to API-driven financial services is accelerating globally, with Juniper Research projecting that open banking API calls worldwide will surge from 137 billion in 2025 to over 722 billion by 2029. Locally, this new API provides merchants direct access to an actively engaged customer base of over 10 million FNB and RMB users.
The system addresses multiple long-standing challenges associated with EFT-based payments. It offers enhanced security, as consumers are no longer required to share sensitive banking credentials outside of their trusted banking app. It also provides real-time settlement, giving merchants immediate cash flow benefits and certainty of funds while avoiding the delay of batch EFT settlements. Furthermore, businesses receive a single, aggregated payout, significantly reducing administrative complexity and streamlining reconciliation, while existing Ozow merchants can activate the API without requiring any additional technical integration.
Bradley Shodries, Head of Payments and Strategic Solutions for Commercial and Corporate Transactional Banking at FNB and RMB, stated that the launch reflects the bank’s wider strategy to leverage collaboration for secure payments, extending its banking infrastructure into the broader digital commerce ecosystem. This partnership is part of Ozow’s ongoing rollout of an expansive payments ecosystem, which already includes solutions like PayShap Request, crypto payments, and business lending, representing a critical step towards a scalable, modernised digital payment infrastructure for South Africa.
