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Mukuru helps you move money around Africa. Sending cash for instant collection or topping up a bank account or mobile wallet, has never been easier.

We exist as a remittances company, to empower migrants to move money in a convenient, safe and affordable manner. These workers, who would usually be excluded from mainstream financial services, can now fulfill their desire to improve their own and their families’ lives.

It is this, the opportunity to enrich the lives of Africa’s people by helping family, friends and loved ones stay connected, that motivates us to improve, to do more and to reach further. To us, a remittance is more than money. It represents the love, care and hard work of the sender and can be a lifeline, an opportunity or even a celebration to the recipient.

More than seven million Kenyan customers and businesses can now transfer money internationally through SimbaPay Family Bank, a leading financial institution in Kenya, has partnered with SimbaPay so that its customers can make instant money transfers to China

SimbaPay – a London based digital money transfer provider – today announced the launch of an AI (Artificial Intelligence) powered chatbot service which now makes International Money Transfer (remittance) possible with only an SMS. The SimbaPay chatbot will also enable 24/7 instant customer service for its customers across Africa and Europe.“We’re thrilled at the prospect of the chatbot service resolving most customer enquiries instantly at any time of day or night” said Daniel Howard, CTO for SimbaPay. “Another major objective we achieved with the chatbot service is that it also works without internet. This means customers with a mobile phone, even a basic phone without internet access, can access the SimbaPay chatbot using SMS”.

Digital money transfer provider, SimbaPay has announced that it now supports Safaricom’s M-Pesa PayBill payment service in Kenya. This development broadens the reach of the M-Pesa Paybill service which was previously limited to Safaricom subscribers within Kenya. Now, Kenyans living abroad will be able to make payments in Kenya on the M-Pesa Paybill service via the SimbaPay App.

“Through our digital platforms, we aim to make available a one stop solution to our customers in terms of funds transfer and with the inclusion of SimbaPay, our customers will now send money to friends and family across the world at the comfort of their mobile phones,” added Mr. Kantaria.

Through SimbaPay, Prime Bank customers will now be able to instantly and securely send money directly to bank accounts or mobile wallets across 15 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia including India, United Kingdom, China (WeChat Pay), Germany, Uganda among others. Commenting on the partnership, SimbaPay’s Head of Operations Victor Karanja noted that the service will provide a seamless platform for Prime Bank’s customer base to send money abroad at the click of a button.

The London-based FinTech SimbaPay and the Kenyan bank Family Bank teamed up to introduce an instant money transfer solution for customers sending funds to China via WeChat.

Over seven million customers and businesses in Kenya will now access SimbaPay’s international money transfer service to send money to China’s WeChat Pay from Family Bank’s PesaPap mobile banking application and USSD service. Non-customers too will enjoy the service via a dedicated PayBill number 261059 on MPESA.

The company makes its money by charging a small transaction fee to the retailer on each purchase. This fee varies. “We take a small transaction fee, much like the acquiring component to merchant transactions,” Ehlers says. SnapScan has a partnership with Standard Bank, which means it can process transactions at “competitive rates”, he adds. In addition to transaction fees, SnapScan offers its customers the option of accessing analytics or running loyalty programmes, both of which are billed as add-ons.

SnapScan co-founder, 28-year-old Kobus Ehlers, says there are a number of benefits to this approach for retailers. “It takes about 30 seconds to sign up. We issue a QR code, which you print, and you’re done.” Merchants without bank accounts can cash out their takings at the end of the day. “Customers can pay with the app, the retailer can then get a voucher code at the end of the day that they can punch in at a Standard Bank ATM — or hand over at a Spar — and get cash.” If customers don’t have the app installed, scanning the QR code will take them to the relevant app store where they can download it.

If customers don’t have the app installed, scanning the QR code will take them to the relevant app store where they can download it.

Lagos, Nigeria – Leading digital financial services company, Carbon, has released it’s 2019 financial statements audited by KPMG, detailing its product growth and $17.5mm in revenue.Carbon began operations in 2012 and within the space of six years, it grew revenue steadily, reaching an all-time high of $17.5mm in full-year 2019. In the same year, Carbon expanded its product offerings to the Kenyan market and it’s disbursement volumes have grown from N13bn (2018) to N23bn.Formerly called Paylater, Carbon pioneered instant lending in Nigeria and was the first mobile app to provide access to credit digitally and without requesting individuals to present the documents and collateral traditionally associated with accessing loans. Earlier this year, Carbon introduced its iOS app and USSD (*1303#) service. It also announced its Disrupt Fund, a $100,000 Pan-African fund to address the lack of capital for African tech startups.“The company will continue to share it’s audited financials annually, thus upholding a culture of transparency and accountability,” says Ngozi Dozie, Founder of Carbon.So far this year, Carbon has introduced multiple new features for its customer base including Carbon Express: a keyboard allowing users to make payments from any social app, periodic investments, free bank transfers, monthly wallet interest, and more.Carbon also plans to introduce debit cards, a reward program for loyal customers and SME accounts for entrepreneurs, in the months to come.You can find the full annual report here (https://bit.ly/2YNuvPw).About Carbon: Carbon (https://getCarbon.co) is a pan-African digital financial institution accessible via smartphones and which provides individuals with access to credit, a fee-free/interest-earning wallet, simple payments solutions, high-yield investment opportunities and easy-to-use tools for personal financial management.Our mission is to empower opportunity globally through friction-free finance that empowers individuals and businesses. We are a global company of over 100 employees with operations in Nigeria, England and Kenya.

Carbon began operations in 2012 and within the space of six years, it grew revenue steadily, reaching an all-time high of $17.5mm in full-year 2019. In the same year, Carbon expanded its product offerings to the Kenyan market and it’s disbursement volumes have grown from N13bn (2018) to N23bn.

Leading digital financial services company Carbon from Nigeria posted all-time high growth last year

It combines instant messaging, social media and mobile payments into one App which will be available for download on Google Play and iOS app stores from 1 August 2019. A similar social payments platform model is already active in Asia, where payment apps are bundled with e-commerce, chat and ride-hailing services offered by firms such as Alibaba and Tencent in China. Imagine a WeChat of Africa!

He described an average African user as highly dependent on a mobile device for accessing financial services. Takyi-Appiah also talked about how an innovative yet simple platform built on the over-the-top (OTT) instant messaging service players such as WhatsApp could offer the scale to penetrate millions who do not have access to formal financial services across the African sub-continent and help transform its payment ecosystem.

Through the digital platforms, Prime Bank aims to make available a one stop solution to its customers in terms of funds transfer. With the inclusion of SimbaPay, the customers will be able to send money to friends and family across the world using their mobile phones.

To access the service, customers will need to login to the bank’s mobile banking app – PrimeMobi, then click on International Money Transfer icon on the homescreen. After confirming the amount to be sent, the sender’s bank account will be debited, and money credited to the beneficiary instantly.

According to SimbaPay, China is Kenya's largest trading partner with businesses in Kenya importing more than $4 billion worth of goods from China last year alone. As it stands, sending money to China from Kenya takes several days, in some cases requiring a person to physically visit an agent to access their money. The new service overcomes those barriers. The companies also said it will result in traders in Kenya being able to replenish stock faster, which in turn will bolster trade between the two nations.

The company was recognized for successfully managing over 4.3 million smallholder farmers through their Area Risk Index and yield insurance product. It provides insurance services and digital solutions to farmers in Africa. The company uses the crop cut experiment as a claim assessment procedure. This assessment relies heavily on ground crop cuts and it’s fed on mobile apps which relay instant feedback to clients. 

Family Bank Limited, a leading bank in Kenya, has partnered with London-based financial technology firm SimbaPay to launch an instant money transfer service from Kenya to China through WeChat – a service that will help boost Kenya-China trade. Over seven million customers and businesses in Kenya will now access SimbaPay’s international money transfer service to send money to China’s WeChat Pay from Family Bank’s PesaPap mobile banking application and USSD service. Non-customers too will enjoy the service via a dedicated PayBill number 261059 on MPESA.

In addition to the China (WeChat) service, SimbaPay also supports money transfer to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ghana, Nigeria, Madagascar, Niger and India. 

China is Kenya’s biggest trading partner. In 2017 alone, businesses in Kenya imported well over USD 4 billion worth of goods from China. The current existing solutions for sending money to China take multiple days to reach the recipient’s bank account, with some requiring the supplier to physically visit an agent to collect their money. This new service easily overcomes these barriers.

M-Shwari is a paperless banking service offered through M-PESA. It will: Enable you open and operate an M-Shwari bank account through your mobile phone, via M-PESA, without having to visit banks or fill out any forms. Provide you the ability to move money in and out of your M-Shwari savings account to your M-PESA account at no charge. Give you an opportunity to save as little as KSHs.1 and earn interest of up to 6.65% p.a on your saving balance. This cash is moved into the savings account via M-PESA. Enable you to access micro credit product (loan) of a minimum of KSHs.100 any time and receive your loan instantly on your M-PESA account charged at a facility fee of 7.5% Save for a fixed period of time (Lock Savings Account) and earn interest of up to 70% of the Central bank Rate. This is a product for everyone who feels that banking should be hassle-free. No forms to fill in, no branches to visit. Just one click on your phone and you have a savings account!