The $60 million startup tackling Africa's travel payments problem

Every time Alon Stern, the chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of TurnStay, looks at the safari lodges and luxury hotels that make up the South African tourism sector, he sees a problem that's hard to ignore: the cost of getting paid. For African tourism operators, the pain of payment processing fees, foreign exchange charges, and cross-border costs is real. According to TurnStay's data, international travellers spend billions of dollars on African holidays every year, but the businesses providing those experiences are often left with a fraction of that cash due to the exorbitant costs of accepting payments.

While many African travel operators compete with their international counterparts for the same customers, they pay significantly more just to receive payment. Card network fees, foreign exchange spreads, and cross-border acquiring costs can collectively consume up to 8% of a transaction, leaving African merchants with razor-thin margins. This is the harsh reality that TurnStay is trying to change. By providing payment infrastructure for hotels, safari lodges, tour operators, and villa agencies, the fintech aims to reduce the cost of accepting international bookings and keep more money on the continent.

TurnStay's solution is built around a merchant-of-record model that uses modern payment rails, including stablecoins for cross-border settlement. According to Alon Stern, this approach can reduce fees to as little as 1.6%. The philosophy behind TurnStay's payment infrastructure is simple: the less merchants pay in fees, the more money stays in Africa. It's a philosophy that resonates with tourism operators who are tired of seeing their hard-earned revenue disappear in the transaction process.

TurnStay's recent milestone - processing over R1 billion ($60.6 million) in travel payments during the first six months of 2026 - underscores the scale of the problem and the potential for growth. By bringing the same payment infrastructure used by global platforms to African travel merchants directly, TurnStay is helping to level the playing field and reduce the cost of getting paid. For Alon Stern, this milestone is evidence of the power of innovation in the African fintech space. As TurnStay continues to grow, what's next?

As TurnStay's payment infrastructure becomes more widespread, it's likely that we'll see a significant reduction in the cost of getting paid for African tourism operators. This, in turn, could lead to increased investment in the sector, more jobs, and better experiences for international travellers. For Alon Stern and the team at TurnStay, the goal is clear: to make the payment infrastructure behind African travel experiences world-class. With a $60.6 million milestone already under its belt, the future of African travel payments looks bright.

The African tourism sector has been stuck in a rut for far too long, with payment processing fees and cross-border costs eroding the margins of African merchants. TurnStay's innovative payment infrastructure is the catalyst for change that the sector needs. With its merchant-of-record model and modern payment rails, the fintech is poised to disrupt the status quo and keep more money on the continent. A notable step that's long overdue, and one that could have far-reaching implications for the future of African travel.