Lineshree Moodley, country manager, South Africa, Visa.
Global payments company Visa has set up its first data centre in South Africa, which forms part of a R1 billion investment in the country’s digital infrastructure.
Announced in Sandton yesterday, the data centre, which is already live, is the first for Visa in Africa, and aims to ensure continuity and resilience in domestic transactions.
Lineshree Moodley, country manager, South Africa at Visa, said the launch speaks to the organisation’s commitment and investment in SA, stating that localisation of the data centre is one of the key pillars of Visa’s investment.
“From a Visa perspective, this data centre provides a deep belief in the growth of the South African market, as well as taking a lead in digital innovation.
“The launch stands for what we believe, which is ‘innovate with inclusion in mind’. As we look at advancing technologies and incoming innovations, we know the power of these innovations lies in being able to reach everyone, everywhere irrespective of their background.”
Visa has 10 offices across Africa, from which it supports payments in all 54 countries. In SA, the financial services firm opened its doors 30 years ago, said Moodley, helping to shape SA’s payments ecosystem, in collaboration with banks, regulators and other partners.
Moodley told media on the sidelines of the launch that the data centre is a key pillar of the R1 billion investment Visa is making in the country. However, she would not divulge development costs, only stating that the centre is located in SA, in Johannesburg.
“From a confidentiality perspective, we can’t say where it is. This has been a project we’ve been running over the last two years; we’re currently processing transactions on home soil for all domestic transactions.
“We wanted to bring capabilities to home soil that we can innovate on. For now, the data centre is to serve the South African market but as we look ahead, we will look at how we can further innovate to use it across the region. It’s the first [Visa] data centre in Africa and the first for our CEMEA [Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa] region.”
Michael Berner, group country manager, Southern and East Africa at Visa, said the launch is the culmination of a long-standing project, and has been set up not only for Visa but for the market.
“We’re celebrating a milestone for Visa in South Africa. We didn’t [initially] think about building infrastructure here on home soil, but over time our business has grown significantly.
“Our number of transactions continue to grow; we see growth in tokenised transactions and almost half of all transactions are now contactless. However, the potential is even larger. And this is what prompted the decision to have a local data centre on the ground in South Africa.
“The data centre isn’t just for South Africa, but a platform for further growth across the continent. It is a sign of the importance the continent has in the global economy, as well as its growing importance in digital payments and the economy overall.”
Michael Berner, group country manager, South and East Africa at Visa.
Describing the data centre investment as “massive”, Berner noted it will create new jobs, as well as support entrepreneurs and SMEs around the continent, female leaders and broader communities that need additional financial literacy and inclusion.
It is one of the few data centres built outside of Visa’s core locations, namely the US, UK and Singapore. “With this data centre, we believe we will bring even more innovations, modern and sophisticated products to South Africa and the broader African continent.”
South Africa is the largest data centre market on the continent, as hyperscalers and data centre operators continue to establish cloud regions, according to a report by Grand View Research.
The Southern African nation has seen data centre operators − including Africa Data Centres, Open Access Data Centres, Teraco (Digital Realty), Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Equinix and Vantage Data Centres − make sizeable investments in this space.
Further, SA is considered a ‘sweet spot’ for operators due to several factors, including the growing cloud market and digital economy.
Solly Malatsi, minister in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, which is charged with driving SA’s ICT agenda, said the data centre investment reinforces the country’s position as the digital gateway into Africa.
“This vote of confidence is welcomed at a time when we aim to transform our country’s economy through digital technology. The development of local data centres directly supports our national priorities and digital ambitions; it aligns with the National Development Plan and the department’s strategy.
“By establishing local capacity for advanced digital services, Visa is helping to lay the digital foundations that will empower the private sector and citizens. By handling transactions here at home, this facility reduces reliance on overseas infrastructure and boosts our national financial sovereignty. It also supports SA’s drive to build a secure and inclusive digital economy.
“Local data centres boost our digital infrastructure and expand the capacity for secure online services. We welcome Visa’s commitment as a partner in progress.”
