Standards/afro-mobile-qr
Afro Mobile QR
Overview
Afro Mobile QR is Sierra Leone's Afro Mobile Money platform's QR-code-payment functionality, operated by Afro International — Sierra Leone's #1 Payment Service Provider, trusted by thousands of Sierra Leoneans with 20+ years of experience [1, 2, [sl-cro]]. Afro Mobile Money enables various Mobile-Wallet-based transaction payments for customers including QR-Code Payments — users can scan QR Codes provided by registered merchants and pay using their Afro Mobile Money wallet. Distinctively, Afro Mobile Money supports cross-MNO interoperability — users can send money instantly to other Mobile Money Providers including Orange Money / Afrimoney from their Afro Mobile Money Wallet.
The structural significance: Sierra Leone's mobile-money landscape is MNO + fintech diverse:
- Afrimoney (Africell) — major MNO mobile money.
- Orange Money Sierra Leone — Orange Group's SL mobile money.
- Afro Mobile Money — Afro International's PSP-driven wallet.
Afro International's 20-year payment-services heritage + #1 PSP positioning make it Sierra Leone's payment-services-veteran. The cross-MNO interoperability (Afro → Orange/Afrimoney) is structurally important — bridging Sierra Leone's MNO-fragmented mobile-money ecosystem. Other Afro Mobile Money features: Wallet-to-Wallet payments, Wallet-to-Cash-Pickup, Bank Deposits, Airtime Top-up.
History
Background — Sierra Leone payment landscape SL:
- Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) — central bank.
- Afro International — Sierra Leone's #1 PSP, 20+ years.
- Africell Sierra Leone — major MNO with Afrimoney.
- Orange Sierra Leone — Orange Group MNO with Orange Money.
- Splash Mobile Money — additional player.
Afro International — 20+ years payment-services heritage [1]:
- Long-standing PSP.
Afro Mobile Money launch [1]:
- Mobile wallet with QR.
Cross-MNO interoperability [1]:
- Afro → Orange Money / Afrimoney transfers.
Wallet-to-Cash-Pickup + Bank Deposits [1]:
- Multi-channel cash-out.
Technical specification
Afro Mobile QR is Afro International-operated Sierra Leonean mobile-wallet with QR + cross-MNO interoperability [1, 2]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | Afro International (Sierra Leone #1 PSP, 20+ years) |
| Country | Sierra Leone |
| Currency | SLL (Sierra Leonean leone) |
| Channels | Afro Mobile Money app |
| Features | Wallet-to-Wallet, Wallet-to-Cash-Pickup, Bank Deposits, Airtime Top-up, QR Code Payments |
| Cross-MNO | Send money to Orange Money / Afrimoney |
| Merchant payments | Scan QR Code provided by registered merchants |
Use cases
P2P wallet-to-wallet transfers [1]: Cardinal — instant.
Merchant QR-code payments [2]: Scan registered merchant QR.
Wallet-to-Cash-Pickup [1]: Cash-out without bank account.
Bank deposits from wallet [1]: Cross-channel cash-out.
Airtime top-up [1]: Multi-MNO.
Cross-MNO transfers (→ Orange Money / Afrimoney) [1]: Interoperability.
Contactless secure in-store payments [2]: Modern UX.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: Afro International (Sierra Leone PSP).
Regulator: Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL).
Cross-MNO partners: Orange Money Sierra Leone, Afrimoney (Africell).
Major SL competitors: Afrimoney (Africell), Orange Money Sierra Leone, Splash Mobile Money.
Fun facts
- Afro International — Sierra Leone #1 PSP, 20+ years heritage: Long-standing payment-services veteran.
- Cross-MNO interoperability: Afro → Orange Money / Afrimoney transfers.
- Multi-feature wallet: Wallet, Cash-Pickup, Bank Deposits, Airtime, QR.
- QR code merchant payments: Modern acceptance.
- Contactless secure in-store payments: Modern UX.
- Sierra Leone mobile-money diversity: Afro + Orange + Africell + Splash.
- PSP-driven model: Vs MNO-driven Afrimoney + Orange Money SL.
Comparison
| Feature | Afro Mobile QR (SL) | Afrimoney (SL Africell) | orange-money-sl (SL) | hesabpay (AF) | evc-plus (SO) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Afro International (PSP, 20+ years) | Africell SL | Orange SL | HesabPay | Hormuud Telecom |
| Type | PSP-driven mobile wallet + QR + cross-MNO | MNO mobile money | MNO mobile money | Mobile wallet + Algorand | USSD mobile money |
| Country | Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | Afghanistan | Somalia |
| Cross-MNO | Yes (→ Orange Money / Afrimoney) | Limited | Limited | n/a | n/a |
| Heritage | 20+ years SL PSP | Africell-MNO | Orange-MNO | Recent | Long-standing |
Status
- Afro International operator.
- Mobile wallet + QR Code Payments + cross-MNO interoperability.
- Wallet-to-Wallet + Wallet-to-Cash-Pickup + Bank Deposits + Airtime + QR features.
Sources
- 1 Afro Mobile Money — official
- 2 Afro Mobile Money About — official
- 3 Afrimoney — Africell
- afri Afrimoney — Africell Sierra Leone
- [sl-cro]
reports/countries/SL-sierra-leone.md
Deployments
No country reports mention this standard by name.