How do people in South Sudan pay online?
Mobile money is the main digital channel. South Sudan’s first mobile money service, m-Gurush, launched in Juba in July 2019 as a partnership between Trinity Technologies and Zain, licensed by the Bank of South Sudan and the National Communication Authority. At launch it offered cash in, cash out, bill payments, airtime purchases, cross-border remittances and power payments.
MTN MoMo is the other main wallet. MTN South Sudan offers MoMo for sending and receiving money, buying airtime and paying for electricity tokens. In September 2025 it launched the Mata fekir campaign in Juba to widen use of MoMo, in what MTN called one of Africa’s least-banked nations. MTN Group reported R84 million of digital and fintech revenue from South Sudan in the six months to June 2026, up from R78 million a year earlier, out of R1,518 million in total revenue there.
Reliability is still a concern. In February 2026 the Bank of South Sudan’s governor met MTN South Sudan about MoMo service disruptions, and the operator named network limitations and liquidity shortages as the main problems, Radio Yei reported. ITWeb also noted that liquidity shortages affect cash withdrawals.
The central bank wants an interoperable system. Its national payment system vision aims to create an interoperable payment system, lower the cost of account-to-account and merchant payments, and help small businesses accept digital payments at the lowest possible cost.
What rules shape online payments in South Sudan?
Mobile money is regulated by the central bank. The Bank of South Sudan lists an Electronic Money Regulation from 2017 among its published regulations, alongside its anti-money laundering policy and a foreign exchange regulation. The Bank of South Sudan Act, 2011, makes the central bank solely responsible for licensing and supervising financial institutions.
The currency is volatile. MTN treats South Sudan as a hyperinflationary economy in its accounts and attributed most of its foreign exchange losses in the first half of 2026 to the volatile local currency. The Bank of South Sudan publishes official exchange rates each weekday and notes that rates change with market conditions and the size of the transaction.
National tax, consumer and data protection rules also apply. Merchants should confirm the current sales tax or VAT position and data obligations with a local adviser before launch.
How would Omno route payments in South Sudan?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group. In South Sudan:
- MTN MoMo pay-ins would go to a provider that holds an MTN MoMo connection, with the order pending until the customer approves on their phone.
- m-Gurush pay-ins can be offered next to MoMo in the hosted checkout through a provider that supports it.
- Card pay-ins can be routed by BIN, with cascading: if a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment moves to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Currency rules can send payments in each currency to the providers that support it, so pricing and settlement match.
Webhooks would carry the final status of each payment, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for mobile money first. Wallets are the main digital channel, and bank and card use is limited.
Plan for interruptions. Network limits and liquidity shortages have disrupted MoMo, so orders need a pending state, and having a second wallet or provider in the rule keeps checkout working.
Plan for currency movement. With a volatile pound and daily official rates, price updates and settlement timing need attention.
Plan for local advice on tax and data rules before launch.