Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa): balances, prefunding and reporting
Onafriq, known as MFS Africa until November 2023, is a pan-African payments network that lets money transfer operators and PSPs pay out to mobile wallets, bank accounts and cash pickup points across 43 African markets through its Remittance and Bulk Payout APIs. Senders hold a prefunded balance in their configured settlement currency that payouts deplete, and check it with the get_balance method, which returns available balance, current balance and any overdraft facility.
What Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa) does
- MFS Africa announced its rebrand to Onafriq on 1 November 2023. source
- Onafriq describes itself as a network of networks offering pay-ins, payouts, card issuance and treasury services. source
- Its Remittance and Bulk Payout APIs serve PSPs, MTOs and global organisations sending payouts to banks, cash pickup or mobile money; separate Portal Payouts APIs serve enterprises. source
- Partners choose a Sync flow (results in the same HTTP cycle) or an Async flow (final status sent to the partner's webhook). source
- For remittances, Onafriq offers a two-party model with direct connections to major mobile money schemes under a single contract. source
- Access to sandbox and production endpoints requires an Onafriq Service Agreement and an Onafriq account; most API documentation is public. source
- Smart Corridors (March 2026) lets Onafriq configure compliance rules, routes, supported currencies and payout types per corridor without redeployments. source
Coverage
- Onafriq states 43 African nations in its network, 1 billion connected mobile wallets, 500 million registered bank accounts and 2,000 cross-border payment corridors (homepage, as of October 2026). source
- The remittance APIs support mobile wallet remittances, bank account transfers and cash pickup remittances. source
- Bank payouts need the destination bank code (from the get_banks method) and account number, and bank accounts can be validated before sending. source
How funds are held and prefunded
- When a payout is logged, Onafriq calculates the amount and depletes the partner's balance in the settlement currency. source
- Error ER217 (Insufficient NSP) means the send platform balance with the Onafriq Hub is depleted and the partner must initiate funding before sending more transfers. source
- The balance is returned in the currency the partner is configured for. source
- Some partners have an overdraft facility with Onafriq; available balance equals current balance plus the overdraft facility. source
- Onafriq offers settlement to partners in one currency instead of settling with partners in multiple currencies. source
- Its treasury services draw on multiple FX sourcing partners across the continent. source
How to see your Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa) balance
| Channel | What it gives you | Source |
|---|---|---|
| API | get_balance (Sync API, SOAP) returns available_balance, current_balance, overdraft_facility, currency_code, status and a UTC timestamp for the partner's balance. | source |
| API | Onafriq asks partners to call get_balance no more than once every 5 minutes; more frequent queries do not reliably reflect recent activity. | source |
| webhook | Async API: each transaction's final status is sent to the partner's preconfigured webhook with thirdPartyTransId, mfsTransId, fxRate, status code, send amount and receive amount. | source |
| API | Async status method returns transaction status, callBackStatus and transactionStatus; it can be called up to four times in 30-minute intervals per transaction. | source |
| API | Sync get_trans_status returns the status of mobile and bank payouts, and get_voucher_status returns cash pickup status. | source |
Regulation
- Onafriq UK Limited (FCA reference 612459) is an Authorised Payment Institution with the Financial Conduct Authority, authorised since 30 April 2018. source
- Onafriq UK Limited (company number 08435446) was named MFS Africa UK Limited until 31 October 2023. source
Connecting Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa) to Polynopsis
Forward Onafriq balance reports and statements to your Polynopsis statement inbox. A direct API connector is on the roadmap. Polynopsis shows it next to every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet in one live position.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check my Onafriq balance by API?
Call the get_balance method with your corporate code and password. It returns available_balance, current_balance, overdraft_facility and the configured currency. Onafriq asks partners to call it no more than once every 5 minutes.
What happens when my Onafriq prefunded balance runs out?
Transactions return ER217 (Insufficient NSP), meaning the send platform balance with the Onafriq Hub is depleted. Fund the balance before sending further transfer instructions.
How do I get final payout status from Onafriq?
On the Async API, Onafriq sends each final status to your preconfigured webhook. You can also query the status method, up to four times in 30-minute intervals per transaction.
Other payout partners and providers
Sources
- Onafriq homepage · Onafriq
- MFS Africa Announces Rebrand to Onafriq · Onafriq
- Payouts · Onafriq
- Treasury Services · Onafriq
- Onafriq For Devs · Onafriq
- Remittance and Bulk Payout APIs: Overview · Onafriq
- Remittance and Bulk Payout APIs: Sync API Methods · Onafriq
- Remittance and Bulk Payout APIs: Async API Methods · Onafriq
- Remittance and Bulk Payout APIs: Getting Access · Onafriq
- Introducing Smart Corridors for Simpler Payouts · Onafriq
- Financial Services Register: Onafriq UK Limited · Financial Conduct Authority
- ONAFRIQ UK LIMITED company overview · Companies House
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.