What is Unayo?

Unayo is Standard Bank’s global digital platform that connects people, businesses, and communities. Unayo means ‘You have it’, and once you have Unayo, you can use it anywhere in the world. With Unayo, you can:

  • Transact using cash ins and cash outs to move money instantly, directly from your phone.
  • Collect your wages and salary, or receive payments securely from anyone, anywhere.
  • Instantly transfer funds to businesses, friends and family using their mobile phone number, or directly to their Unayo account.
  • Make bulk payments to suppliers and receive payments from customers.
  • Pay your monthly bills and shop from wherever you are.
  • Become a merchant and earn commission for performing transactions in your community.

Unayo is for everyone. All you have to do is download the Unayo app on your smartphone, or sign up with USSD, create your profile, and you’re ready to go!

How does Unayo work?

With Unayo, you get a fully digital bank account – and you can complete the entire registration process for opening personal and business accounts online, so you don’t even have to visit a branch! You can sign up for Unayo from anywhere in the world, whether you are a Citizen, Foreign National, Refugee or Asylum Seeker in a specific country.
You will be able to sign up for a personal account. After that, open a business account or apply to become a merchant.

Assisted services

If you don’t have your own smartphone, it’s no problem.
You can sign up for a Lite account on USSD, or if you have a friend or family member with the Unayo app installed on their phone, you will be able to use the “assisted services mode” on their device to sign up, upgrade your account, open a business account, apply to become a merchant or perform transactions using their device. You can then use your feature phone for day-to-day transactions.

Personal Unayo accounts for you


  • This account is designed for quick and easy day-to-day transacting. It enables you to move money using cash in and cash outs and instantly pay your friends, family, and merchants using the ‘Send Money’ option or digital account transfer. You can also give your dependants permission to access your Unayo account. A Lite account is ideal if you use USSD because you can register with basic personal information.



  • If you want more functionality, the Unayo Pro account is for you. When you sign up for this account, you will have to provide additional information, such as your photo, identity documents and home address. By doing so, you will enjoy increased transactional and account limits. You will also be able to apply to become a Micro-merchant, which means you will be able to accept payments for goods and services and facilitate other transactions, such as cash ins and cash outs.


Unayo accounts for your business


  • If you have your own business, you can open an Unayo business account. This will give you access to higher account limits and allow you to manage employees’ rights and access to your account.

    To open your account, you will be prompted to provide your business documents, such as your business registration document, proof of address, proof of income and details about your related parties. These requirements do differ region. View your country page for more information.

    Once you have provided your business’ details, you will have access to a business account with higher limits. You can also add employees or partners and manage their rights on your account.



  • Unayo Merchant capabilities
    You can apply to become an Unayo merchant on your personal or business account. All you need to do is provide details about your business, including your trading location. Your trading location will allow you to become searchable by other users on the Unayo app and act as a point of presence for Standard Bank.

    In exchange for facilitating transactions, such as cash in and cash out, you will earn an instant commission into your Unayo account. These commissions can become an additional income stream for you or your business.

    Micro merchants
    This option is ideal for sole proprietors, informal traders, or someone looking to earn extra income by providing transactional services.

    • Open a Pro account and follow the steps to apply to become a merchant.
    • You will be asked to provide info about yourself, list your trading location and sign a contract.
    • Once your application has been approved, you will be able to perform transactions in your community and earn instant commissions of as much as 1.5% of the transaction (please refer to the Key Facts Document on your country page for more information as values may differ between regions)

    Business merchants
    This option is ideal for small to medium-sized enterprises.

    • Create an extra revenue stream for your business.
    • Open your business account and follow the steps to apply to become a merchant.
    • You will be asked to provide info about yourself, list your trading location and sign a contract.
    • If you have multiple stores, you will be able to list multiple trading locations.
    • Once your application has been approved, you will be able to perform transactions in your community and earn instant commissions of as much as 1.5% of the transaction (please refer to the Key Facts Document on your country page for more information as values may differ between regions)

    Super merchants
    This option is ideal for large or franchised retailers or those who require retail device or till integration.

    • Create an extra revenue stream for your business.
    • Open your business account and follow the steps to apply to become a merchant.
    • You will be asked to provide info about yourself, list your trading location and sign a contract.
    • If you have multiple stores, you will be able to list multiple trading locations.
    • Once your application has been approved, you will be able to perform transactions in your community and earn instant commissions of as much as 1.5% of the transaction (please refer to the Key Facts Document on your country page for more information as values may differ between regions)
    • If you require retail device or till integration, please visit the partner page for more information.


 

Get started in your country!


Unayo is rapidly expanding its footprint to countries across the globe. We have started in Africa, and new countries are coming online all the time.

Watch this space!

Unayo is currently available in:

- Botswana  
- Eswatini
- Lesotho
- Malawi

Frequently asked questions



  • Signing up and registering for Unayo is absolutely free. Once you are on the platform, you will be able to perform the following transactions for free too:


    • Inter-account transfers
    • Payments
    • Send Money (including bulk payments)
    • Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs) to Standard Bank / Stanbic accounts
    • Cash-in transactions

    Please note that certain transactions will attract a tiered fee, depending on the amount. These include:


    • EFTs to other banks
    • EFTs to digital wallets
    • Cash-out transactions at merchants

  • A cash in transaction allows you to exchange physical cash for e-value at any merchant registered on the Unayo platform. You hand the merchant the physical cash and they transfer funds of the same value digitally to your Unayo account. This process is similar to depositing cash at a bank branch.



  • A cash out transaction works the other way around. It allows you to exchange e-value for physical cash at any Unayo merchant. You create a digital voucher in your Unayo account for the amount of cash you want and send it to the merchant’s Unayo account. The merchant then hands you the physical cash in exchange for the voucher. This process is similar to withdrawing cash from a branch or an ATM.



  • You can pay anyone registered on the Unayo platform in any of the following ways:

    Scan to pay: This allows you to scan a QR code and enter a payment amount.

    Send money: You can send money to any Unayo user’s email address or cellphone number and they will be able to redeem it at any participating Unayo merchant.

    Payment vouchers: Unayo also lets you generate payment vouchers which you can forward to a recipient for redemption at any participating Unayo merchant.

    Pay into a bank account: You can enter the recipient’s bank account details and make a direct transfer into that account.



  • The Unayo app allows you to search for merchants near you and click on their details to get directions on Google Maps. If you are using USSD, just click on the ‘Find merchant’ option on the main menu.



  • Unayo is designed to work on any phone. If you can’t download the app, you can still use Unayo on any phone with USSD functionality. All you have to do is dial the USSD code specific to your country of residence and follow the easy steps to register. Once your account is set up, simply key in the number of the transaction you want to do from the menu options on your screen (send money, pay, cash in, cash out, merchants, more) and you will instantly connect to the Unayo platform.



  • If you choose Unayo Lite, you can only have one transactional account. With Unayo Pro, you can have one transactional account and up to 3 savings accounts. If you have an Unayo Merchant account, you can have up to 100 different transactional accounts – and up to 100 savings accounts. If you have an Unayo Donor account you can have up to five separate transactional accounts.



  • You can close any Unayo transactional or savings accounts you no longer need. Your data will be stored for up to seven years in accordance with regulations.