Your cell phone can now do a lot more than make a call. Across Africa, it can be used to pay for dinner, book a hotel, send money home or run a small business.
Towfiqu barbhuiya / Pexels / Illustrative purposes only
That growing reliance on digital services is making everyday life more convenient, but it also means there is more to protect.
According to figures cited by Mastercard from INTERPOL’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment, cyber incidents across Africa resulted in more than $3 billion in financial losses between 2019 and 2025. Online scams, ransomware and business email compromise were among the threats identified.
Cyberattacks targeting African organisations also increased by 37% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2024, with South Africa and Egypt recording the highest ransomware detection rates in the region.
Building trust in a digital Africa
For travellers and consumers, much of this security work happens quietly in the background.
You tap your card, pay with your phone or enter your details online, expecting the transaction to go through without giving much thought to what is happening behind the screen.
Mastercard says it is using artificial intelligence, identity verification, fraud prevention and tokenisation to help protect those transactions.
The company says its Safety Net technology prevented nearly $50 billion in potential fraud losses across its network over the past three years. It has also reported investing more than $12.6 billion in cybersecurity innovation since 2019.
These figures are Mastercard’s own reported figures and have not been independently verified.
The company has also established an Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, bringing together governments, financial institutions and businesses to work on digital security and resilience.
Why it matters to travellers
As digital payments become more common, they are also becoming part of the travel experience.
Booking accommodation, buying flights, paying for meals and accessing money while abroad can all happen from a smartphone. That convenience is valuable, but it also makes basic digital security worth paying attention to.
Using secure networks, keeping devices and apps updated, enabling multi-factor authentication and monitoring bank accounts can all help reduce the risk of falling victim to fraud.
Africa’s digital economy is still growing, and so is the technology supporting it. The challenge is making sure that as more of everyday life moves online, people can trust the systems they increasingly depend on.
Source (IOL)
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