Kenya’s Family Bank Ltd. will collaborate with London fintech SimbaPay to launch a transfer service to China with WeChat.
Processing Content
The companies hope to serve an addressable market of 7 million Kenyan businesses, which will have the option to send funds to WeChat Pay from Family Bank’s PesaPap mobile banking service. Nonbank customers can use MPESA to access the transfers.
The Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s WeChat application icon displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5s is reflected on a surface in an arranged photograph in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Tencent, the best performer in Hong Kongs benchmark index since its 2004 listing, plans a share split to boost holdings by individuals after earnings missed estimates on higher costs for its WeChat app. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
The collaboration is designed to make supply chains smoother. WeChat has more than 1 billion subscribers, and Kenyan traders frequently use WeChat social app to communicate with suppliers.
The integration adds a payment function to go with the social tools, and is another venue for WeChat to extend its growing international payments reach. Kenya has long been a hub of payments innovation, and was an early adopter of mobile money and blockchain to support digital transactions.
John Adams is executive editor of payments for American Banker. John interviews top executives in the payments, cryptocurrency and fintech... Read full bio
The two fintechs will increase distribution of a 'pay by bank' option that has picked up steam in recent years as merchants and consumers seek relief from card fees.
The Treasury Department's General Counsel Brian Morrissey resigned his post as controversy grew over a Department of Justice settlement creating a fund to compensate for alleged victims of prosecution by the Biden administration.
Yotta marketed accounts as FDIC-insured and impossible to lose, then moved $28 million of Californians' money to a Synapse arm its own executives didn't trust.
Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said Tuesday that central bank researchers using Artificial Intelligence must follow security protocols designed to protect sensitive data.
The move comes about a year after rising delinquency levels prompted SBA to raise lender fees and tightened underwriting standards in its flagship 7(a) program.
Select ChatGPT users can now connect their bank accounts to the AI-powered chatbot for personal money management advice based on their financial history.
