Happy Pay and Ozow partner to bring zero deposit Buy Now Pay Later to South African merchants
Cape Town, South Africa – Happy Pay, South Africa’s ad-subsidised payments network, and Ozow, one of South Africa’s leading payment platforms, have announced a partnership that will make zero deposit, interest-free Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) available to merchants across Ozow’s network.
The integration is designed to be as frictionless as possible for merchants. Ozow merchants can activate Happy Pay’s BNPL option without additional development work, new contracts, or changes to their existing checkout setup. It plugs directly into the payment flow they already use, meaning merchants can start offering zero deposit instalments to their customers the same day they switch it on.
Ozow currently connects businesses of all sizes to over 47 million South African bank account holders, processing payments across e-commerce, in-store, QR, and payment link channels around the clock. Its merchant base includes some of South Africa’s most recognised retail and consumer brands. Happy Pay brings its ad-subsidised BNPL model into that ecosystem, meaning the cost of the instalment is funded through merchant partnerships rather than passed on to the consumer.
What sets Happy Pay apart in a growing BNPL market is its commitment to keeping the customer experience at the heart of everything it does. As a business built around making BNPL work for the consumer, Happy Pay’s entire product is designed around simplicity, transparency, and delivering flexibility without any hidden cost.
Wesley Billett, CEO of Happy Pay, says the partnership reflects a shared focus on delivering meaningful value: “BNPL is no longer a niche payment method. It is becoming a standard expectation at checkout. By partnering with Ozow, we are able to extend this capability to a broader merchant base, while maintaining a seamless and responsible customer experience,” he says.
For merchants, the partnership addresses one of the more stubborn friction points in retail: customers who want to spread the cost of a purchase but drop off when faced with deposits, interest, or complex sign-up processes. With zero deposit BNPL now available through a payment method they already accept, merchants can offer flexibility without changing how they operate.
“Merchants are looking for practical ways to improve performance at checkout without adding complexity,” says Lyle Eckstein, Chief Commercial Officer at Ozow. “This partnership enables exactly that, giving merchants access to a proven payment method that can drive conversion and unlock new customer segments, while remaining fully aligned with Ozow’s single integration approach.”
Happy Pay’s model also means merchants benefit beyond the transaction itself. The platform’s AI-driven ads engine uses purchase intent and behavioural signals to connect high-intent shoppers with relevant products, driving incremental revenue and new customer acquisition alongside the payment flexibility.
The partnership builds on Happy Pay’s broader push to embed itself into South Africa’s everyday commerce infrastructure. The company, which recently closed a $5 million seed round led by Partech, serves more than 600,000 registered users and is growing its network of retail and e-commerce partners across the country. Ozow’s established scale and merchant reach gives the partnership immediate distribution from day one.