The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) says that the fintech startup, Flutterwave, is not registered to operate in Kenya.
CBK governor Patrick Njoroge said, according to Business Daily, that the company, as well as Chipper Cash, are not allowed to offer payment services to merchants in the East African country.
“Flutterwave is not licensed to operate remittance provider or for that matter as a Payment Service Provider in Kenya. They are not licenced to operate and therefore they shouldn’t be operating. And Chipper we could also say the same,” Dr. Njoroge said.
Flutterwave is also facing money laundering and fraud allegations in the country, which it has denied. According to TechCrunch, a total of $52.5 million in 62 accounts linked to Flutterwave and six other companies that are recipients of wire transfers from the fintech was blocked by the country’s High Court, and Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency applied to have them frozen.
Earlier this year the fintech company got permission from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to launch its payment services in Tanzania.
On its website, the company says it is currently operating in 34 African countries including South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. It is not clear if it gained the required approval to operate in the said countries.
By Zintle Nkohla
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