Chipper Cash and Flutterwave haven't get License to Operate in Kenya

According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Flutterwave and Chippercash are not yet licensed to work as a remittance service operator and payment services in Kenya.

On Thursday, 28th of July, 2022, during a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Meeting in Kenya, the Central Bank's Governor - Patrick Njoroge said Chipper Cash and Flutterwave shouldn't be operating because they are not permitted.

Flutterwave is not licensed to operate as a remittance provider or for that matter as a PSB service provider in Kenya. They are not licensed to operate and therefore they shouldn’t be operating. We can also say the same for Chipper Cash.

Two years back - that's 2016, Flutterwave commence operation Kenya after making an announcement that it platform could process card payment in partnership with (with the help of) Kenya's KCB Bank.

However, the card will have or be dominated with Kenyan Shellings and US dollars. Two years later, Flutterwave again launched it barter app in Kenya.

Same thing with Chipper Cash, the fintech platform raised $100m in a Series C round, with participation from Bezos Expeditions and 500 Startups, in 2021. The California-based Fintech provides P2P payment services across 8 African countries including Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.

This announcement by the CBK is now the latest A-series of legal run-ins between foreign technology companies such as Chipper Cash,  Flutterwave and the Kenyan government.

list of licensed PSB in Kenya.

What you should know

In the beginning of this month, Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) accused Flutterwave of money laundering and fraudlent activities—allegations that the company denied—and succeeded in convincing a Kenyan court to freeze $52.5 million in 62 bank accounts that belongs to the fintech company.  The ARA also accused Flutterwave of operating in the country without license from the CBK.

Chipper Cash is an African cross-border fintech company that features a software application platform that enables free instant cross-border mobile money transfers in Africa as easy as 123. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.

Kenya, which is a pioneer in mobile money with M-Pesa, has been mulling the idea of launching a Central Bank Digital Currency in the country, which is considered a major market in the African continent for mobile payments and remittances instead of using some kind of Payment Service Bank (PSB).

Conclusion

The truth to be told, is Kenya's Central Bank not seeing Flutterwave and Chipper Cash operations since last six years? Drop your opinion in the comments section below.