“Can a vertically integrated, multi-rail PSP own enterprise payments infrastructure across South Africa and emerging Africa/MENA markets?”
Stitch began in 2019 as an open finance / financial data API for African banks, similar to Plaid. After a 2021 pivot it relaunched as a Pay by bank pay-in product, then expanded in 2023 to a full end-to-end PSP with cards, debit orders, payouts and the PayOS orchestration layer. With the 2025 Series B, Stitch is vertically integrating into card acquiring via its Efficacy Payments arm, positioning itself as enterprise payments infrastructure across South Africa and the broader MENA/Africa region.
Stitch processes payments through Stitch Pay by bank (self-operated), Stitch Card pay-ins (self-operated), Stitch Debit Order (self-operated), Stitch Payouts (self-operated), Stitch In-person / Terminal (self-operated), Stitch + Efficacy Payments card acquiring (self-operated) and Stitch BNPL (self-operated).
Stitch connects to bank accounts through Stitch (self-operated AIS/PIS for South Africa).
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 3 layers in Stitch's stack: Payments / PSP (Stitch Pay by bank (self-operated), Stitch Card pay-ins (self-operated), Stitch Debit Order (self-operated), Stitch Payouts (self-operated) and 3 others); Lending (Stitch BNPL (2-6 instalments, Stitch holds credit risk)); Open banking (Stitch (self-operated AIS/PIS for South Africa)).
Stitch was founded by Kiaan Pillay, Priyen Pillay and Junaid Dadan and is founded in 2019, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa.
Stitch has raised $107M in total (latest round: Series B, 2025).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Stitch and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.