- South African travel-focused fintech TurnStay has raised $2 million in seed funding to expand across African markets
- The round was led by First Circle Capital and joined by TLcom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CVVC, and Equitable Ventures
- The startup operates a merchant-of-record structure combined with payment orchestration, allowing card payments to be processed in the traveler’s country
South African travel-focused fintech TurnStay has raised $2 million in seed funding to expand across African markets and strengthen its payments infrastructure for tourism operators. The round was led by First Circle Capital and joined by TLcom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CVVC, and Equitable Ventures.
Founded by Alon Stern (Slide Financial) and James Hedley (Quicket), TurnStay helps African travel and tourism businesses lower payment costs and boost booking conversions. Its model utilizes local payment processing and stablecoin settlement to reduce card fees by up to 70% and expedite settlement times.
The startup operates a merchant-of-record structure combined with payment orchestration, allowing card payments to be processed in the traveler’s country while funds are settled locally.
The company previously raised $300,000 in July 2024 and has since processed over ZAR250 million in transactions. It has signed deals with key tourism players and aims to scale further with the new capital.
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Key Takeaways
TurnStay’s model addresses a major inefficiency in Africa’s travel industry: the high cost and slow pace of cross-border payments. By mirroring the techniques used by global travel giants, it offers a tailored solution for African tourism operators often priced out of competitive online markets. The platform’s use of stablecoins for local settlement is particularly relevant in markets with currency volatility and banking limitations. This feature not only improves cash flow for operators but also ensures higher conversion rates by enabling travelers to pay in familiar, domestic systems. Its focus on a single vertical–travel–gives TurnStay an edge over generalist payment providers, enabling custom integrations, better fraud controls, and deeper client relationships. With an estimated $ 50 billion+ annual travel and tourism market in Africa and growing cross-border demand, TurnStay is positioning itself as the underlying infrastructure to power payments in the sector. Backed by both African and global VCs, its next phase of growth will test how far a travel-centric fintech can scale on the continent–and whether localised fintech models can meaningfully bridge global-to-local payment flows.
