M-Pesa, Kenya's highly successful mobile money platform, failed to gain traction in South Africa (SA) primarily because services offered by M-Pesa were already extensively available through the country's robust banking sector and supermarket chains.

• SA's banks, including Standard Bank of South Africa, have a long-standing history and are leaders in Africa, with Standard Bank present in Kenya as early as 1911.
• SA supermarkets offer a wide array of services beyond groceries, such as insurance, power tokens, money transfers, and gambling (lotto), effectively filling the gap M-Pesa addressed in Kenya.
• The presence of Britons and Afrikaners gave SA a head start in modern services, establishing it as a beachhead for global brands entering the rest of Africa.