US FinTech WayaPay Launches Digital Bank, Transfer App Aimed at African Immigrants

WayaPay, which describes itself as a Kenyan FinTech primarily based within the United States, says it has launched its full-service digital financial institution and money-transfer app tailor-made to the wants of immigrants from Africa.

Kenya’s ambassador to the United States, Lazarus Amayo, joined within the launch festivities on Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C. in Washington, D.C., in response to Mwakilishi News.

The app was co-founded by Dr. David Wachira and Hempstone Maroria, in response to WayaPay. Amayo mentioned the app and financial institution have all their required U.S. approvals, the corporate’s announcement states.

The app permits free cash transfers to different customers and buying via financial institution playing cards linked to the app.  The firm states that customers of the app can open financial institution accounts “within minutes” and ship cash to cellular wallets in additional than 10 international locations in Africa.

“WayaPay’s goal is to provide unlimited financial access and opportunities to everyone, especially those that are underserved, overlooked, and misunderstood by the traditional banking systems globally, with an initial focus on people living and working outside their home countries,” WayaPay states on its web site.

The app, in response to the corporate, will enable straightforward switch of funds from U.S. banks to WayaPay customers. The firm acknowledged {that a} outcome can be that African immigrants can have an opportunity to “be more financially secure and financially included in the countries where they work and live.”

“Mobile money is one of the biggest African success stories. Waya wants to bring the convenience of transacting on mobile money to banking in the U.S., enabling users to transact with each other while enabling the diaspora to send money to Africa in a fast convenient and affordable way,” Maroria mentioned in a ready assertion.

PYMNTS famous that in some African international locations — Nigeria, for instance — the marketplace for banking apps may very well be enormous as a result of much more folks have cellular gadgets than have financial institution accounts.

See extra: How Telco APIs Are Enhancing Africa’s Mobile Money Ecosystem

Wachira, who was once an official on the World Bank, mentioned Africans all over the world ship $50 billion dwelling yearly however lose $3 billion to sudden charges and excessive charges on international alternate calculations.

“We not only want to help them move money back home in a faster, cheaper, and affordable way but want to enable them to also store, spend and transact the over 80% of their income that remains in the countries where they live and work,” he mentioned.

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