Frans Stander, Iliad Solutions (Africa & Middle East).
It was good to meet industry leaders, innovators, and decision-makers in South Africa at PIPC 2025, The PASA International Payments Conference, 16-17 October. This event has become an important meeting point for those working to shape the future of payments and financial services in Africa and beyond. For Iliad Solutions, it was an opportunity not only to share our expertise in payments testing and certification, but also to listen and learn from the institutions driving transformation in the region.
Regional challenges
While the South African payment regulators and financial institutions are indeed driving financial inclusion initiatives and payment modernisation across the borders into the 16 SADC Countries (Southern African Development Council Countries), similar regional testing challenges have become evident on testing platforms, payment stream integrations and deployments within the neighbouring countries. This is a result of:
- Too hasty efforts to deploy payment stream solutions within very short timeframes
- Insufficient testing and certification standards utilised by financial institutions
- Internal development teams executing self-testing deployments and self-certifications on their own products, and not via recognised certified testing platform companies
- “Good AI” vs “Bad AI” is a trend being noticed by regulators affecting secure payment modernisation efforts
- Tech developers’ lack of knowledge on the value of recognised certifications on testing platforms
- Regulators lack of clear directives to industry on standards and certifications on payment integration testing and deployments
South African banks, payment processors, schemes and regulators have shown great progress to address these challenges and the PIPC2025 provided a good soundboard for SADC delegates to obtain best practice insights.
Why South Africa matters
South Africa has long been a hub of financial innovation on the continent. With a diverse market, progressive regulatory developments, and an increasingly digital-savvy customer base, the country is well-positioned to help progress payment modernisation. At the same time, the pressures on financial institutions are immense: the need to reduce risk, adapt to new payment standards, and respond quickly to customer demands, all while keeping costs under control.
This is where Iliad Solutions can play a meaningful role.
Our Focus: testing and assurance for a complex world
Financial institutions in South Africa are investing heavily in new systems, digital channels, and real-time payments infrastructure. However, with every new system or upgrade comes a risk of disruption if technology is not properly tested. At Iliad, our mission is to remove this risk.
Through our testing platform, t3, we provide banks and payment providers with the ability to simulate, test, and assure complex payment environments before they go live. This means fewer failures, faster delivery of new services, and a smoother experience for customers. Importantly, we help organisations keep pace with international standards while also addressing the unique demands of local markets.
Supporting payment providers
I see three clear ways Iliad can support financial institutions in South Africa and around the world:
Accelerating change programmes. Our tools shorten payment testing cycles, allowing institutions to introduce new services to customers more quickly and with greater confidence.
Managing compliance and standards. From ISO 20022 migration to regulatory reporting, our platform helps organisations stay compliant without slowing down innovation.
Building resilience and reliability. By testing in realistic, high-volume conditions, we help banks ensure that systems are resilient and can scale with customer demand.
Looking back at PIPC
Personally, PIPC 2025 was an opportunity for me to connect with colleagues across the industry, exchange ideas, and showcase how Iliad is already collaborating with leading financial institutions worldwide. I believe South Africa’s payment ecosystem is at a pivotal stage, and I am proud that Iliad can be part of supporting its next phase of growth.
If you weren’t able to attend PIPC or we didn’t meet, please reach out. Let’s explore how we can work together to build stronger, more reliable, and more innovative financial services for the people and businesses of South Africa and our neighbouring cross-border SADC member states, Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. We are ONE SADC.. we are on each other’s doorstep, let’s collaborate on making our region great.
Frans Stander is based in Cape Town, South Africa where he heads-up the MEA Region (Middle East / Africa for Iliad Solutions). Frans can be contacted on: frans.stander@iliad-solutions.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fransstander