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Kora, a payments infrastructure company focused on Africa, has joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Financial Gateway (IFG), enabling global airlines to access Africa’s fragmented payment ecosystem through a single infrastructure layer.
The integration is expected to improve payment acceptance and streamline settlement processes for airlines operating across African markets, where fragmented payment rails and settlement complexities have historically created significant operational challenges.
The IATA Financial Gateway (IFG) serves as the aviation industry’s dedicated payment orchestration and management platform, connecting airlines with global, regional, and local payment partners to optimise transaction processing, improve payment acceptance, and reduce operational costs.
Airlines Gain Unified Access to Africa’s Payment Ecosystem
With Kora now integrated into the IATA payment network, airlines and travel agencies using IFG can accept payments across Africa through a single connection.
This gives carriers access to multiple payment methods including cards, bank transfers, mobile money, and alternative local payment channels without the need to build and manage separate integrations for each market.
The move addresses one of the most persistent barriers to airline expansion across Africa: navigating highly fragmented local payment systems.
For many global carriers entering African markets such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, and South Africa, payment processing has often been complicated by foreign exchange constraints, disconnected settlement systems, and the need to maintain multiple payment service provider relationships.
By consolidating these processes into a single infrastructure layer, the partnership reduces operational friction and improves settlement reliability.
This is particularly important as airlines increasingly require scalable payment infrastructure supported by strong regulatory compliance, reliable settlement frameworks, and secure transaction processing.
Africa’s Aviation Growth Fuels Demand for Better Payment Infrastructure
Africa remains one of the fastest-growing aviation markets globally, with the continent projected to add more than 300 million new air passengers by 2050.
As passenger volumes rise, airlines are under growing pressure to modernise payment infrastructure and deliver seamless booking experiences across diverse markets.
The expansion of digital payments across Africa has created opportunities for more efficient airline payment systems, but it has also increased the need for stronger financial compliance, risk assessment, and smarter compliance monitoring tools to manage cross-border payment operations.
Commenting on the partnership, Dickson Nsofor, Chief Executive Officer of Kora, said the collaboration represents a major step toward solving Africa’s payment infrastructure challenges for global airlines.
“Africa is not a market to figure out later. It is a growth opportunity that demands serious infrastructure today. Our partnership with IATA signals that the rails are ready. Global airlines no longer have to choose between expanding into Africa and managing payment complexity,” he said.
According to Nsofor, integrating Kora into IFG gives airlines access to both market expansion opportunities and payment infrastructure tailored to African market realities.
Partnership Strengthens Cross-Border Payment Efficiency
IATA currently represents more than 370 airlines worldwide, making the integration a significant milestone for payment interoperability across the aviation sector.
With Kora now part of IFG, participating airlines gain direct access to Kora’s payment stack across the markets where the company operates.
Kamil Al-Awadhi, Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East at IATA, said the partnership enhances the organisation’s ability to support airlines expanding across African markets.
“IATA Financial Gateway enables increased travel payment processing flexibility for the world’s airlines and travel suppliers to build cost-effective payment strategies. Kora’s participation strengthens our ability to serve airlines operating in or expanding across African markets,” he said.
The partnership also reflects broader RegTech innovations shaping Africa’s payments ecosystem, where fintech infrastructure providers are increasingly helping enterprises manage regulatory reporting, improve settlement transparency, and strengthen cross-border payment efficiency.
As Africa’s digital economy continues to mature, infrastructure partnerships such as this are expected to play a critical role in reducing payment friction and enabling scalable regional commerce.
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