Kenya’s Central Bank says Flutterwave and Chipper Cash not licensed to operate in Kenya

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has said that African Fintech unicorns Flutterwave and Chipper Cash, are not licensed to operate remittances or payment services in the country.

This news was disclosed Thursday by the CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge, at a press conference following a meeting of the East African nation’s apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee in Nairobi.

“Flutterwave is not licensed to operate as a remittance provider or payments service provider in Kenya,” Njoroge said. “They are not licenced to operate and therefore, they should not be operating and I think Chipper Cash, we could also say the same.’’

Over the past few months, Flutterwave and other Fintech firms in the company have seen increased scrutiny from the Kenyan government, with their operations affected in some cases.

On July 7, a Kenyan High Court ordered the seizure of Sh 7 Billion ($59 million) from 56 accounts belonging to Flutterwave and some other Fintech companies over claims the accounts were being used to launder money in the guise of providing merchant services.

At the time, Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) had told the court that Flutterwave’s account had received billions of shillings, and this money was deposited in different bank accounts to conceal the nature, source or movement of the funds.

Flutterwave Kenya, in its response had dismissed the claims made by the ARA, and denied all involvement in any financial improprieties. The company had stated it earned its fees through a transaction charge, and had records of these fees that can be verified. Three account belonging to the fintech firm were frozen by the court, with funds amounting to about $43 million in various currencies.