PawaPay has been named one of the World’s Top Fintech Companies 2026 by CNBC and Statista.
The recognition comes after a strong year for the company, during which it processed more than three billion mobile money transactions while enabling businesses to access mobile money services across 20 African markets through a single integration.
Now in its fourth year, the World’s Top Fintech Companies ranking is compiled by CNBC in partnership with research firm Statista. For the 2026 edition, more than 3,500 fintech companies from around the world were evaluated, with only 500 making the final list based on innovation, scalability and their contribution to the future of financial services.
PawaPay CEO Nikolai Barnwell said the recognition reflects the growing importance of Africa’s payments infrastructure on the global stage.
“This recognition is another sign that African payments infrastructure is earning the global attention it deserves. Mobile money is one of the world’s most successful payment systems, with more than $1.4 trillion in transactions processed across the continent last year, yet many businesses outside Africa still underestimate both its scale and sophistication.”
Barnwell added that businesses expanding into Africa increasingly want a simple, reliable way to accept and make payments without having to build separate payment integrations for every market.
PawaPay provides a unified payments platform that connects businesses to mobile money services across multiple African countries. Its customers span industries including remittances, transportation, digital services and humanitarian aid.
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