In Francophone West Africa, a region historically underserved by traditional banks, a new battle is underway in the fast-evolving world of digital finance. Prepaid cards, once seen as peripheral products, have now become the latest frontline in a race for financial inclusion and consumer loyalty. And at the center of this contest stands Ivorian fintech leader Djamo — increasingly flanked by new challengers.

This month, Senegal became the latest battleground as Mixx by Yas, the fintech subsidiary of Madagascar-based Axian Telecom, in partnership with Ecobank, officially launched the Mixx Mastercard, a prepaid card aimed squarely at modernizing payment options for individuals and businesses. With both physical and digital versions available, the Mixx Mastercard is the latest effort to bridge the gap between mobile money systems and global payment networks like Mastercard.

For Mamadou Lamine Traoré, CEO of Mixx by Yas, the proposition is about trust, convenience, and capturing the imagination of younger, tech-savvy consumers. “Mobile money growth has proven that people are ready to use digital tools for their money. But it has to be easy. It has to work,” he said at the launch event in Dakar.

Mixx by Yas is positioning its offering not just as a prepaid card, but as part of a broader push to democratize financial tools in Senegal. The firm’s wider product suite — including Flexpay, a digital payment platform, and Lebalma, a credit offering — shows Axian Telecom’s ambition to build a fintech ecosystem stretching beyond telecommunications into digital banking.

Axian is not alone in this charge.

Last year, in Abidjan, Wizall Money, a fintech owned by Moroccan banking giant Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), introduced its own new prepaid product: the Carte Bleue Wizall Money. Virtual and physical, it is designed to meet the same need that Mixx is eyeing: giving unbanked and underbanked populations access to the global financial system through a prepaid card, backed by partnerships with traditional banks like Banque Atlantique Côte d’Ivoire.

Gilles Gnanagbé, CEO of Wizall Money, underscored the strategic intent: “We’re leveraging technology to give people control over their finances, with or without a bank account.”

For Djamo, founded in Côte d’Ivoire in 2019, these moves represent the most significant threat yet to its dominance in the prepaid card space across Francophone Africa. Djamo’s growth has been impressive, its Visa-backed debit cards popular among urban youth and freelancers who previously struggled with financial exclusion. By eliminating fees for top-ups and offering an increasingly sophisticated mobile banking experience, the startup has expanded to over 1.2 million users in Côte d’Ivoire alone.

But unlike some fintechs that pursue disruption for its own sake, Djamo has taken a collaborative approach, partnering with local banks to issue cards that meet regulatory approval and align with merchant preferences.

“Fraud detection algorithms at local merchants often flag foreign-issued cards. That’s why we build with local banks — for customer success rates and ease,” Djamo’s co-founder Hassan Bourgi explained in an earlier interview.

Still, the competitive dynamics have shifted.

Wave, a US-backed mobile money juggernaut already operating at scale in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, has also stepped into the prepaid card arena. Its partnership with Orabank yielded the launch of a VISA virtual prepaid card earlier this year. Notably, Wave’s entry has been lauded for its aggressive pricing: free issuance, free deposits, no rejection fees, and direct integration into Wave’s already widely used app.

For consumers, the choices are suddenly rich — Mixx Mastercard with international reach, Wizall Money with its banking network partnerships, and Wave’s fee-free model appealing to everyday online shoppers.

Yet, Djamo still leads in breadth of services, offering physical cards, in-store payments, ATM access, and an increasingly sophisticated subscription-based model that caters to upwardly mobile Ivorians seeking comprehensive digital financial tools.

Why Prepaid Cards Matter

What makes these prepaid cards such a pivotal battlefield? In short: financial inclusion.

Prepaid cards offer a way for unbanked individuals — who may lack formal IDs, proof of address, or credit history — to participate in the digital economy. They can shop online, pay for subscriptions, book travel, and engage with platforms that only accept card-based payments, something mobile wallets alone cannot always accomplish.

According to the BCEAO, the regional central bank for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), prepaid cards are the fastest-growing segment of the card payments ecosystem. Circulation rose by 16% to 1.6 million prepaid cards in 2023, far outpacing traditional debit card growth.

Moreover, fintech-driven innovation has made these products easier to obtain. Users can download an app, complete a KYC (Know Your Customer) verification, and receive a virtual card within minutes — bypassing the bureaucracy that often characterizes traditional banks.

Despite the intensifying competition, Djamo enjoys a comfortable war chest. Its latest $17 million Series B funding round, completed in April 2025, was led by Janngo Capital, with participation from SANAD Fund, Partech, Oikocredit, Enza Capital, and Y Combinator. More importantly, the Ivorian government — via CDC-CI Capital — invested $1.3 million, signaling public sector confidence in Djamo’s long-term prospects.

Djamo has also staked its strategy on focusing not on the entire unbanked population but on “bank-ready” users: young, urban, digital-native Ivorians who are actively seeking better alternatives to cash and traditional bank accounts.

“We estimate around 25 million people in the region ready for formal financial services. That’s our focus,” Bourgi has said.

For now, despite the fintech buzz, banks still lead the payments space across Francophone Africa. Fintechs act more as catalysts than as disruptors, relying on collaborations with banks to issue cards, settle transactions, and meet regulatory standards.

Infrastructure improvements help but lag behind demand. The region’s ATM network remains modest at 4,214 units as of late 2023, while the number of point-of-sale terminals is rising steadily but still unevenly distributed.

Yet the fintech card wars unfolding in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire are reshaping consumer behavior and forcing banks to move faster, adopt digital solutions, and embrace partnership models that once seemed unlikely.

A Market in Transition

Djamo, Mixx by Yas, Wizall Money, and Wave are not just battling for market share — they are competing over the future of money in Francophone Africa. And as digital infrastructure improves, smartphone penetration grows, and regulatory frameworks evolve, the real winners may be consumers who, for the first time, have real choice.

The prepaid card has gone from being a niche product to becoming one of the sharpest tools in the fight for West Africa’s emerging middle class. The next phase will test whether fintechs like Djamo can maintain their early lead or whether better-capitalized players like Axian and BCP can tilt the balance in their favor.

For millions of Africans, financial inclusion is no longer just an aspiration — it’s becoming a tangible reality.