Sources: central bank and provider disclosures, 2024–2025.
How DR Congo pays
DR Congo is a cash and mobile money market. The US dollar is widely used alongside the Congolese franc, and most people pay in cash or through mobile money from M-Pesa (Vodacom), Orange Money and Airtel Money. Bank card ownership is low and concentrated in the main cities.
Mining, aid and trade bring in many payers holding foreign-issued cards, and a diaspora in Europe and across Africa pays for services at home. For a merchant, the realistic starting point is cross-border: international cards and express wallets behind one integration, 3DS on card-not-present, and sanctions screening and compliance checks before onboarding.
Why merchants run on us here
Built for cross-border spend
Businesses, visitors and the diaspora pay with foreign-issued cards.
Cards and wallets, one integration
International cards and the express wallets, with 3DS on card-not-present.
How DR Congo pays at home
Cash and mobile money dominate; the focus here is cross-border.
Screened before onboarding
Every merchant goes through sanctions screening and compliance checks before going live.
Payment methods
Cards
Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
Diners Club
JCB
UnionPayBuy Now, Pay Later
Sandbox BNPLDigital wallets
PayPalMobile money
Airtel MoneyExpress checkout
Apple Pay
Google PayGateways
Sandbox BNPLAirtelPayPal
Airwallex
Stripe
Adyen
Unlimit
Worldpay
Checkout.com
Authorize.net
MPGS
Cybersource
Sandbox GatewayAirwallex (Enterprise)
Braintree
CommerceHub
Fiserve
NMI
Nuvei
OrbitalBuilt for enterprise
Everything it takes to run payments in DR Congo
Local payment methods are only half the job. We carry the operational weight — acquiring, settlement, FX, licensing and reconciliation — so you can treat DR Congo like any other market in your stack.
One integration, growing local coverage
Connect once for what's live in DR Congo today — including international card acquiring — and add local wallets and bank rails through the same integration as we bring them online.
Local acquiring, higher approvals
We route to local acquirers and retry failed payments across alternate rails, so domestic cards and wallets authorize at local rates instead of being declined as cross-border traffic.
Settlement, FX & repatriation
Collect in the Congolese franc (CDF) and settle in your base currency. We handle the FX conversion and the local rules for moving funds out of the country — the part most global merchants underestimate.
Licensing handled locally
We're establishing locally licensed partners so you can process in-country as we expand local coverage — without standing up your own entity or chasing a license.
Payouts & reconciliation
Pay out to sellers and process refunds on the same rails you collect on, and reconcile every flow — pay-in, payout, refund — in one ledger, in local or base currency.
Fraud, disputes & compliance
Real-time screening, chargeback and dispute handling, and KYC/AML that matches local regulator expectations — built in, not bolted on.
Ready to launch in DR Congo?
Talk to our payments team about going live in DR Congo — coverage, local acquiring, settlement and timelines for your business.