Cape Town, South Africa; In a significant boost for Africa’s travel and tourism sector, South African fintech startup TurnStay has raised US $2 million in seed funding to scale its innovative travel payment platform across the continent.
The round was led by First Circle Capital, with participation from TLcom Capital, Enza Capital, Incisive Ventures, CVVC, and Equitable Ventures. This marks a major step forward for the company, which launched in 2024 and has already processed over ZAR 250 million (about US $13.5 million) in transactions since its pre-seed raise of $300,000.
TurnStay’s platform tackles one of the most persistent challenges in African tourism—slow, expensive, and unreliable cross-border payments. Using a merchant-of-record model and payment orchestration technology, the company enables travel operators to accept card payments in tourists’ home currencies, while settling locally in stablecoins.
This approach, the company says, can cut transaction fees by up to 70%, reduce settlement times from weeks to days, and significantly improve booking conversion rates by minimizing failed international transactions.
“Our mission is to empower African travel operators to compete on a global stage by removing payment barriers that have long held the industry back,” a TurnStay spokesperson said. “With this funding, we can expand our footprint, improve infrastructure, and give tourism businesses the tools they need to thrive.”
The platform integrates seamlessly with booking engines and property management systems, allowing hotels, tour operators, and other travel businesses to adopt it without costly overhauls. Early partnerships with major industry players have already demonstrated strong demand.
With Africa’s tourism industry poised for renewed growth, TurnStay’s expansion could have far-reaching effects—offering local operators faster access to revenue, tourists more convenient payment options, and the sector as a whole a competitive edge in the global market.