Visa launches data centre in South Africa as part of R1bn investment

Visa, an American multinational payment card services giant, on Wednesday launched its data centre in Johannesburg, its first in Africa and part a R1 billion investment over the next three years into South Africa.

“This investment reflects our commitment to the long-term potential of South Africa and its economy,” said Michael Berner, the head of Southern and East Africa at Visa. “With the launch of this state-of-the-art Data Centre, we are building the digital foundations needed to drive inclusion, unlock innovation and power the broader vision of sustainable economic growth across the region.”

In announcing the investment, Berner said part of the investment will also cover creation of the new jobs. It will support entrepreneurs, SMEs, female leaders and the broader communities, which need some additional financial literacy.

Visa’s new Data Centre represents a significant expansion of its global processing network, VisaNet, which powers more than 100 billion transactions annually across 200 countries and territories. This cutting-edge infrastructure brings Visa’s world-class capabilities closer to South African businesses and consumers, enabling secure, seamless and resilient transaction processing within South Africa’s borders.

Visa’s local infrastructure will play a vital role in advancing South Africa’s dynamic digital economy by enabling the core technologies that power secure, fast, and reliable payments. It will support Visa’s partners in driving forward key industry innovations, including digital wallets, e-commerce, commercial transactions, and card-based person-to-person payments—while laying the groundwork for globally relevant solutions that align with the ambitions of the local financial sector.

“South Africa has made impressive strides in digital payments, with contactless transactions now accounting for over 60% of face-to-face payments,” said Berner. “This Data Centre is a critical enabler of that momentum, further strengthening the country’s real-time commerce infrastructure.”

Berner said Visa had been in South Africa for 30 years and over time the business has grown very significantly. 

"We see tremendous growth in  tokenized transactions. We see that almost half of all transactions are now contactless, but the potential is even larger, and that prompted the decision to bring the local data center to the ground in South Africa," Berner said. "But the data center here in South Africa is not only for South Africa. This is our platform for the further growth in the entire continent, and also a sign of the importance, which the continent has in the global economy, and the growing importance of the continent in digital payments and in the economy overall."

He said building the data centre, one of very few that are built outside of Visa's core locations, which is US, the UK and Singapore, was evidence of this commitment to Africa.

Lineshree Moodley, Country Manager for Visa South Africa, said the launch of the data centre was an "exciting moment, a monumental milestone for Visa and it serves as an affirmation and commitment to the market in which we are operating."

“Visa is proud to support South Africa’s national vision for digital inclusion and economic resilience,” said Moodley. 

Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies of South Africa, said, "This investment demonstrates the growing global confidence in South Africa as an investment destination. It further reinforces South Africa's position as the digital gateway into Africa. This vote of confidence is welcomed at a time where we aim to transform our country's economy through digital technology."

He said the development of local data centers directly supports South Africa's national priorities. It aligns with the National Development Plan and the strategic plan of the Department of Communications by establishing local capacity for advanced digital services.

"Visa is helping to lay the digital foundations that will empower private sector and citizens and by handling transactions here at home, this facility reduces reliance on overseas infrastructure and boosts our national financial sovereignty. This investment supports South Africa to build a secure and inclusive digital economy. We welcome Visa's commitment to South Africa as a partner in progress," he said. 

BUSINESS REPORT