Interview with Vusi Mahayi, Senior Specialist: Business Development. Commercial Payments Merchant Acquiring | Absa Group, SA

Seamless Xtra’s Alia AlHussein interviews Vusi Mahayi, Senior Specialist: Business Development. Commercial Payments Merchant Acquiring, Absa Group, SA.

 

Innovating Payments: Overcoming Barriers and Shaping the Future of Merchant Services

 

This interview explores the evolving landscape of commercial payments and merchant services, highlighting how initial motivations — such as revenue potential and enabling digital transactions — have grown into a deeper focus on innovation and solution delivery. It examines the key challenges merchants face, particularly in emerging markets, including high costs, limited local payment options, infrastructure gaps, and poor checkout experiences. Finally, it outlines how to distinguish lasting innovations from fleeting trends by evaluating their real-world utility, scalability, adoption, and regulatory resilience — with technologies like NFC, biometrics, and cryptocurrency poised to shape the future of payments. 

 

1.What first attracted you to the commercial payments and merchant services space, and how has your view of the industry evolved? 

 

The economic profits and significant earning potential are the primary initial attractions for individuals in sales roles within the Commercial Payments and Merchant Services space. 

For businesses, the initial attraction to the services themselves is the ability to accept credit and debit card payments and other alternative payment methods, which is necessary for modern commerce and reaching a larger customer base. My view has since evolved from being a spectator  who only reaps the benefits of the industry to a participant who assist in innovation and providing solutions to the industry. 

  

2.What do you see as the biggest challenge merchants face today when it comes to payment acceptance, especially in emerging markets? 

  

The biggest challenge merchants in emerging markets face is the cost and complexity of accepting digital payments. 

Other major hurdles include: 

* Limited local payment methods and the need to offer locally trusted options like mobile wallets. 

 * Inadequate infrastructure like unreliable internet and a lack of payment networks. 

 * Operational and technical failures that lead to poor checkout experiences and high cart abandonment. 

  

3.With technologies like mobile wallets, QR codes, and embedded payments gaining ground, how do you assess which innovations are here to stay vs. passing trends? 

  

Technologies like Near-Field Communication (NFC) tap-to-pay, biometric authentication, and cryptocurrency integration are also gaining ground in mobile wallets.  

We can assess innovations by checking if they solve a real-world problem (utility), have a scalable business model (stability), attract significant user adoption and network effects, and can adapt to regulatory changes (sustainability). 

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