(Bloomberg) — Flutterwave Inc. and Chipper Cash are not licensed to operate as payments service providers in Kenya, central bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said.
“Flutterwave is not licensed to operate as a remittance provider or for that matter as a payments service provider in Kenya,” Njoroge told reporters in a virtual briefing in the capital, Nairobi.
“They are not licensed to operate and therefore they shouldn’t be operating, and Chipper Cash we could also say the same,” he said.
The central bank’s comments follow a Kenyan court order earlier this month freezing for 90 days multi-currency bank accounts linked to transactions by Flutterwave Payment Technology Ltd.
on suspicion of money laundering.
Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Samuel Aboyeji are named as shareholders of the company that was registered in Kenya in February 2017, court documents show.
The central bank didn’t immediately respond to questions about how the financial technology companies have been able to facilitate payments since registering as businesses in the country.
Flutterwave Denies Impropriety After Kenyan Court Freezes Funds
Chipper Cash, which has operations in seven African countries including Uganda and Nigeria, has so far raised a total of $305 million since its launch three years ago and is valued at $2 billion.
Uganda Warns Investors Against Unlicensed Chipper Cash Trading
Flutterwave submitted its application for a Payment Service Provider license to the central bank in 2019, a company representative said.
It entered the market through partnerships with licensed banks and mobile network operators, according to an emailed response to queries.
“We have been in constant engagement with the Central Bank of Kenya to ensure that we provide all the requirements, and we look forward to receiving our license,” it said.
“We are committed to operating within the stipulated laws, regulations, and industry standards in Kenya.”
Chipper Cash didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
(Updates with Flutterwave comments from 7th paragraph.)
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