1. Can you introduce Vanilla Pay International and the mission behind its creation?
Vanilla Pay International is a fintech startup that was born from a very personal experience. I used to live in France, where everything was already digitized, we purchased everything online. When I returned to Madagascar about 10 years ago, I realized that e-commerce didn't really exist here. That sparked the question: why not bring this kind of digital payment system to Madagascar to support local economic development?
So I started reaching out to banks. At that time, they had no online payment solutions. I also contacted mobile money operators. While they weren't exactly enthusiastic, they weren’t opposed either. So I decided to build something on my own: an online payment platform that could integrate into local websites. I created the startup and began aggregating mobile money operators in Madagascar. That’s how Vanilla Pay was born.
2. What were the first use cases you focused on when launching the platform?
We started small, as most startups do, partnering with friendly business owners to test the technology. The first real use case was in the education sector, private universities and training centers. Parents could now pay school fees online, even on weekends, without traveling. It was a big shift.
Soon after, the World Bank launched a cash transfer program worth over $100 million to help people in financial difficulty. We developed a solution that could support these transfers digitally. From there, we began evolving rapidly, developing new features tailored to Madagascar’s specific digital financial inclusion needs.
3. What are some of the key challenges of Madagascar’s financial ecosystem that Vanilla Pay aims to solve?
There are several. For one, traditional banking is inaccessible to a large portion of the population. Many are unbanked or underbanked, especially in rural areas. So our challenge was to create a system that’s simple, fast, and inclusive.
We addressed this by building a tiered KYC system, users can open an account with just a phone number and email address. It’s easy, and they can start making transactions right away. Later, if they want more features, they can upload their ID for verification. This progressive approach fits well with local culture and makes it easy for both the youth and their parents to adopt the service.
4. What are Vanilla Pay’s most popular services, and how do they impact people’s daily lives?
The most used services are opening Vanilla Pay accounts and making purchases on partner websites. We currently have around 70,000 user accounts, which is more than some banks in the country. These accounts are connected to about a hundred businesses that use our platform to receive payments.
This growing adoption has helped increase financial literacy and trust in digital transactions. Plus, we’re building a valuable data ecosystem, our transaction data can be leveraged to improve financial services, tailor offers, and better understand user behavior.
5. How do you incorporate emerging technologies like QR codes, mobile wallets, or offline payments into your platform?
We’ve already integrated most of these. A recent project we’re particularly proud of involves the broader Vanilla Islands, six island nations including Madagascar. Every day, there are around $1 million worth of exchanges between these islands, but no seamless, real-time payment infrastructure exists. Most transactions are processed via bank transfers that take two or three days.
To solve this, we set up our international headquarters in France, where FinTech laws are more clearly defined. From there, we coordinate with our subsidiaries in Madagascar and the surrounding islands to develop real-time payment solutions, including QR code-based payments and even offline transactions for areas with poor connectivity, like national parks or rural regions.
6. What role do partnerships with telecom operators, banks, and government agencies play in your strategy?
They’re absolutely essential. FinTech cannot operate in isolation. When we proposed our international payment solution, we were approached by two banks and two microfinance institutions in Madagascar, eager to collaborate.
Mobile money operators, who serve about 50% of Madagascar’s adult population, have also been key partners. Our solutions are built to integrate seamlessly with their systems. We design everything with local literacy levels and user comfort in mind to ensure adoption is smooth and intuitive.
7. How does Vanilla Pay contribute to Madagascar’s broader digital transformation and economic development?
Vanilla Pay helped found the FinTech Association of Madagascar. We realized there were clear frameworks for banks, microfinance institutions, and mobile money operators, but nothing for FinTechs. That’s why we work closely with the Central Bank of Madagascar to advocate for regulatory development.
In fact, the Central Bank plans to launch a regulatory sandbox in 2025, specifically to support FinTech innovation. We have monthly meetings with them and are pushing forward policy that will enable Madagascar’s digital economy to grow responsibly.
Internationally, we’re offering services through our French entity and exploring expansion into Asia and the Gulf region, particularly through partnerships in the UAE.
8. Are there any current expansion projects or services tailored to other African markets?
In addition to expanding within Madagascar, particularly to support tourists, we’re also looking at broader African markets. For instance, we’ve launched a digital payment app that uses QR codes to help tourists avoid carrying large amounts of local cash. When they arrive in Madagascar, they often get 100 bills for €100, which is inconvenient and insecure. With our app, they can preload funds via PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or WeChat Pay, also Visa card, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, … and simply scan and pay wherever they go.
It’s a powerful tool not just for ease of use but also for safety, inclusion, and traceability. We’re working to expand this model into other African countries over the next year or two.
9. Are you currently looking for partners or investors from the Gulf or international markets?
Madagascar alone sees around €500 million in transaction volume in tourism, and another €1 billion for freelancers and import-export operations. We’re actively seeking investors or strategic partners from the Gulf to help us scale, particularly those who understand cross-border transactions and are willing to support our regional expansion.
With the right support, we can build bridges between the Vanilla Islands, the Gulf, Asian, and other markets, enabling seamless, secure digital payments across borders.
10. And finally, what message would you like to share with Khaleej Times readers? Why is now the right time to invest in Malagasy FinTech?
If you invest €1 million in Vanilla Pay today, in five years you could see that investment multiplied tenfold. We’re not just building for Madagascar, we’re scaling across Africa and internationally. We’ve built the infrastructure, validated the model, and we’re ready to grow. This is the perfect time to get involved.
11. Is there anything you'd like to add about Vanilla Pay’s services?
Vanilla Pay essentially offers two core services. The first is an international transaction platform that brings in revenue to Madagascar. The second is our national digital payment app, which leverages the data and infrastructure of the first.
Together, these two pillars allow us to scale rapidly and offer real impact, both in financial access and in economic growth.
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