Ozow and RelyComply have formed a partnership aimed at making merchant onboarding faster and more secure across South Africa’s digital payments ecosystem.
The partnership has been struck as South Africa’s payments market shifts further towards account-to-account transfers, mobile payments and voucher-based methods, increasing the volume of digital transactions and, with it, the opportunities for fraud. Both firms say the tie-up is designed to help merchants begin transacting with greater confidence, while strengthening protections against financial crime from the moment a business is onboarded.
At the centre of the agreement is Ozow’s decision to embed RelyComply’s AI verification tools directly into its merchant onboarding workflows. The companies say this will help identify higher-risk profiles earlier in the process, with the aim of preventing issues such as fake identities, mule accounts and fraudulent business registrations from entering the network in the first place.
Ozow provides a suite of payment products for consumers and businesses in South Africa, focusing on seamless, secure transactions. Founded in 2014, the company’s offering spans Pay by Bank, Card Payments, PayShap Request, Instant Refunds, Payouts and Cash Vouchers, supporting multiple ways for merchants to accept and distribute funds.
RelyComply, meanwhile, focuses on verification and compliance capabilities designed to reduce onboarding risk. Through AI-led checks and AML-oriented controls, the firm positions its tools as a way for payment providers to spot suspicious activity earlier and build safer transaction networks as they scale.
Beyond risk reduction, the companies are positioning the partnership as a step towards more inclusive digital payments. Ozow said strengthening compliance is intended to improve trust for both merchants and consumers, particularly as more everyday commerce moves to digital rails and new payment methods become mainstream.
The firms did not disclose commercial terms of the partnership, but framed the collaboration as a response to a fast-evolving fraud landscape, where onboarding is increasingly seen as a critical control point for payment providers.
RelyComply CEO Bradley Elliott said, “Onboarding is where trust begins. As payment systems grow, that trust needs to scale too. Our partnership with Ozow reflects a shared belief – that secure growth starts with smarter AML compliance.”
Ozow interim CEO Rachel Cowan said, “We’re excited to partner with RelyComply to enhance the safety and reliability of our merchant onboarding process. As we grow, we remain focused on helping people and businesses transact with confidence.”
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