Yoco is a payments and software company that offers small businesses in South Africa an easy way to accept card payments. Since launching in late 2015, Yoco has grown into the largest independent point-of-sale payments company in the market, with a merchant base of over 60,000 (in November 2019), 75% of which had never accepted cards before.
In 2017, Yoco expanded its product offering by launching a point-of-sale application for independent retailers and a working capital product whereby merchants can get a cash advance instantly. It has also partnered with accounting software provider Xero and point of sale providers Vend and iKentoo to offer its merchants a fully integrated experience. The company has recently begun expansion into Sub-saharan Africa.
In Africa, small businesses constitute over 90% of businesses but they are hamstrung by daily challenges ranging from accepting payments, to getting organised to accessing capital for growth. By providing the tools for these small businesses to trade, Yoco believes it will enable people on the African continent to thrive.
In 2017, Yoco was selected by CB Insights as one of the top 250 fintech companies in the world.
In 2018, the company raised $16-million in Series B funding, and in July 2021, an $83 million Series C funding round to scale offline and online offerings and expand to new markets.
In October
2021, Yoco launched a new card machine, the Yoco Khumo, that offers the fastest
connectivity speed ever on a Yoco card machine as it connects to the widely
accessible 4G network speeds, with unlimited data and can connect to wifi.
Khumo will be the most affordable, smart card machine in South Africa,
launching at R799 and capable of processing Tap, Chip & Pin, Swipe, and
digital mobile payments in under 3 seconds.