Visa Partners with Zazu and Chari to Launch Digital Business Accounts in Morocco

Visa has joined forces with pan-African fintech Zazu and Moroccan infrastructure player Chari to roll out what they describe as Morocco’s first fully digital professional account for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The announcement was made during GITEX Africa 2026 in Marrakech, a fitting stage for a product aimed squarely at modernising how SMEs manage money.

At its core, the new account promises something many founders in the region have long wished for: speed. Business owners can open a professional account in less than ten minutes, entirely online. No stacks of paper. No multi-week waiting game. If you’ve ever tried to set up a business account in parts of the region, you’ll know it can be a bit of a faff. So shaving that process down to minutes is, on paper at least, spot on.

The platform brings together invoicing, payment links for collections, real-time expense tracking and team-level spending controls into one dashboard. Visa Business cards for employees are expected to be introduced in the coming weeks. In short, it aims to function like a European-style SME neobank, but adapted to local rails and regulation.

Each partner has a clearly defined role. Chari provides the technological backbone, including access to payment licences via APIs, as well as local market knowledge. Visa contributes its global payments network and card issuance capabilities. Zazu, meanwhile, runs the customer-facing side of the platform.

Interestingly, more than 300 businesses had already signed up before the official public launch. Among them are AI recruitment platform Jobzyn, auto marketplace Auto24 and Moroccan proptech startup Yakeey. That early traction will likely be watched closely, because early adoption is one thing; long-term engagement is another.

Zazu itself was founded in 2024 by former Solarisbank executives Rinse Jacobs and Germain Bahri. The startup raised $1 million in pre-seed funding in late 2025 and is already operational in South Africa. Morocco, it seems, is being positioned as a springboard into North and West Africa. The reasoning is straightforward: while Morocco’s banking infrastructure is relatively mature, digitally native financial tools for SMEs are still limited. There’s a gap there, and gaps, if timed right, can become opportunities.

I’ve spoken to many early-stage founders across the region through Arageek’s community, and one frustration comes up again and again: managing cash flow with outdated banking tools. It slows momentum. And in startups, momentum is everything. That said, launching a sleek digital account is one thing; earning the trust of small businesses is another kettle of fish. SMEs tend to be cautious with their money, and rightly so.

What makes this partnership structurally interesting is that it does not rely on securing a full banking licence from scratch. Instead, it layers a digital experience on top of existing payment licensing frameworks, using Chari’s regulated infrastructure. On the flip side, this model may allow faster scaling across similar markets, if regulators and partners align.

Morocco’s role here shouldn’t be underestimated. The country is increasingly seen as a gateway between Africa and Europe, and fintech innovation is definately part of that narrative. And believe it or not, GITEX Africa itself has become a launchpad for some of the region’s more ambitious announcements.

Whether this new account becomes a game-changer or just another fintech experiment will depend on execution. But for founders tired of paperwork and branch visits, the idea of setting up a professional account in ten minutes probably sounds like music to their ears… well, at least in theory.

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