THE
DATA-FREE
SUPER APP
built for South Africa
The Difference
We Made
Reshaping Digital Payments
MoyaApp has transformed South Africa's messaging and digital payments landscape by removing data costs as a barrier to access.
Scaling a Trusted Super App
Monkey and River's design & development partnership was instrumental in growing MoyaApp into a trusted, widely adopted app.
Driving Financial Inclusion
Delivered accessibility, innovation, and financial inclusion for millions of users across South Africa.
From Concept
to Outcome
An inside look at the problem we
set out to solve and the results
we achieved together
The Challenge
Delivering a robust, user-friendly messaging and payments platform that eliminates data costs while scaling to millions of users.
The Result
A data-free "super app" with over 10 million downloads and 6 million monthly active users, enabling affordable communication and transactions for lower-income markets.
More details
MoyaApp set out to disrupt South Africa's digital communications market
by offering a no-data-cost alternative to traditional messaging and
payments apps. The challenges were multifaceted:
Optimise Data Usage: Ensuring reliable, large-scale messaging while absorbing data costs.
Improve Low-Data Accessibility: Creating a UX that balanced low data consumption with usability.
Enable Cross-Team Collaboration: Coordinating across distributed teams and external partners.
Ensure Regulatory Compliance: Building MoyaPay to meet KYC and regulatory standards.
Unify Business Services: Developing a unified business portal to consolidate all Moya products and services.
The
Solution
Monkey and River has been a strategic partner to MoyaApp since 2020, contributing design, development, and ongoing technical innovation:
Data-Free Messaging & Services
Built cross-platform apps (Android, iOS) using Ionic, integrating features like messaging, Discover promotions, and purchasing options (lotto, airtime, data, electricity).
Payments Innovation
Designed and developed the MoyaPay mobile wallet UI, business web portal, and payments API with secure identity verification for compliance.
Business Portal
Created an all-in-one management platform where vendors and clients can handle payments, payroll, and services through a unified interface.
Tech Stack
Leveraged Python (FastAPI), Java (Spring Boot), Angular, Golang, and Converse.js (XMPP) for scalable, high-performance solutions.
UX Approach
Designed data-light interfaces to minimise consumption while maintaining accessibility and functionality.
Data-free messaging
platform (Android & iOS)
Mobile wallet (MoyaPay)
and payments API
Business web portal
with payroll management
Identity verification (KYC)
and compliance services
Discover section for app
and service promotions
Delivering
Meaningful
Impact
The collaboration delivered major outcomes for MoyaApp's growth
The Outcome
- 10M+ Downloads
- 6M Monthly Active Users
- Data-Free Messaging
- Streamlined Business Tools
- Enhanced Compliance
- Ongoing Scalability
The Impact
- Established MoyaApp as one of SA's leading messaging platforms
- Strong adoption across lower-income markets
- Removed barriers to communication for millions of users
- Moya Business Portal enabled payroll & vendor management
- Integrated KYC and secure digital payments
- Multi-service architecture supports future growth
“Messaging and payments, free from data barriers.”
MoyaApp is a pioneering data-free messaging and services platform designed to remove the barrier of data costs for millions of South Africans. By combining chat, payments, and essential services into one app, MoyaApp empowers underserved markets with affordable digital access.
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