Visa to build SA’s first data centre in major investment push

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has welcomed Visa’s renewed commitment to South Africa, following a high-level meeting with senior executives from the global payments company on the sidelines of the B20 Summit in Pretoria on Thursday.

Mashatile met with Visa’s Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Tareq Muhmood, as well as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs Bobby Thomson, at the OR Tambo House.

The engagement comes as Visa embarks on a three-year, R1 billion investment plan aimed at strengthening South Africa’s digital and payments infrastructure.

Mashatile expressed appreciation for the company’s continued collaboration with government, saying Visa’s efforts were helping to stimulate economic advancement.

“Your commitment to our country's infrastructure development has not gone unnoticed,” he said, adding that government “remains receptive to new avenues or concepts for investment”.

A centrepiece of Visa’s investment is the establishment of South Africa’s first domestic Visa data centre, the first anywhere on the African continent.

The facility is expected to localise transaction processing, stabilise digital payment services and accelerate the rollout of innovations such as digital wallets.

Mashatile highlighted the broad economic implications of the partnership, emphasising how better digital infrastructure could support small businesses, township economies and youth development. The investment, he said, will “empower SMEs, enhance township economies, and promote youth development through training and mentorship”.

The Deputy President urged Visa to deepen its engagement with South Africa, extending an invitation to the company’s leadership to attend next year’s South Africa Investment Conference.

“South Africa will host the Investment Conference in March 2026, and we would like to encourage you to participate in this event as we explore further areas of investment and partnership,” he said.

“These are opportunities that will benefit you as a company as well as South Africa and its people, especially the youth.”

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