Jonathan Smit, the founder and former Managing Director of Payfast, has announced his acquisition of iVeri, one of Africa’s longest-standing payment technology providers. The move marks a significant shift in the continent’s fintech landscape, bringing together iVeri’s nearly 30-year legacy of robust payment infrastructure and the vision of one of South Africa’s most accomplished entrepreneurs.
“Payments keeps drawing me back because it is infrastructural in nature,” Smit explains. “Trends come and go, but the need to move money never does, and that is exactly where I want to be. The acquisition is a return to those roots. For decades, iVeri has been the blue-chip of African payments, synonymous with stability and trust. My goal now is to build on that legacy of reliability and strengthen it with the agility and forward-thinking technology needed to power the next generation of African commerce.”
An engineer by training, Smit founded Payfast in 2007 and spent the next 15 years scaling it into one of the country’s leading online payment gateways, before exiting between 2019 and 2021. Since then, he has invested across private and public markets, building a portfolio of more than 30 businesses and funds locally and globally. It is a journey that has sharpened his understanding of where the payments landscape is headed, and more importantly, where the greatest opportunities lie.
The acquisition follows a natural transition point for iVeri’s founding team as they move into retirement. Co-founders Barry Coetzee and Roland Elferink have chosen a succession path that keeps iVeri’s ownership, intellectual property and operational focus firmly on African soil.
“Jonathan and I have known each other for the better part of 20 years, and that history gave us a great deal of confidence in this process,” says Coetzee. “His depth of experience in payments, his understanding of the African market and his long-term vision for iVeri made him the natural choice. We are proud of what this business has become, and equally confident about where it is headed.”
iVeri’s capability across both online (card-not-present) and in-person (card-present) payments is what first drew Smit to the business. While fintech innovation is often associated primarily with digital channels, iVeri has quietly built a substantial presence in both areas – facilitating online transactions, while managing a terminal fleet that rivals many well-known competitors. Crucially, this infrastructure spans multiple African countries, giving iVeri a significant regional footprint – rooted in local ownership rather than remote oversight.
“In the current geopolitical environment, autonomy over our data and financial infrastructure matters more than ever. Keeping our team, intellectual property and cost base local means, we’re aligned with the markets we serve and have a far better understanding of the conditions and nuances that shape them. It’s about building solutions on the continent, for the continent – designed around the needs of local businesses and the clients they serve. That proximity makes us more relevant to the market and better positioned to support it,” says Smit.
For existing clients and partners, Smit’s message is a commitment to continuity first; “Reliability and consistency are non-negotiable – and we will move carefully to ensure they are never impacted. But stability doesn’t preclude progress; it enables it. My focus is on innovating responsibly: building a world-class team and giving strong leaders the space to experiment safely. This business has been something of a well-kept secret. That changes now.”