Past Issues

Issue 189

A deep dive into Interswitch’s business operations

Mar 10

Issue 188

Nigeria clamps down on crypto (again)

Mar 03

Issue 187

Fintechs are collateral damage in CBN’s plans for FX reform

Feb 11

Issue 186

Happy New Year 🎉

Jan 28

Issue 185

FrontEdge raises $10M in new funding.

Dec 03

Issue 183

Inclusivity Solutions raises $1.5 million Series A extension round

Nov 05

Issue 182

Ecentric Payments acquires Thumbzup

Oct 22

Issue 181

Risevest acquires Chaka.

Oct 01

Issue 180

Emata raises $2.4 million in seed funding.

Sep 17

Issue 179

Anchor raises a $2.4 million seed round.

Sep 10

Issue 178

Mastercard to acquire minority stake in MTN's fintech unit.

Aug 06

Issue 177

Rapyd to acquire parts of PayU business for $610m.

Aug 06

Issue 176

Traction raises $6 million in seed funding.

Aug 06

Issue 175

Google Pay partners with Verve to accept Naira on Play Store

Jul 28

Issue 174

CBN announces guidelines for contactless payments.

Jul 28

Issue 173

Visa launches a fintech accelerator in Africa

Jun 25

Issue 172

Multichoice to launch new payment solution

Jun 04

Issue 171

TymeBank raises $77.8 million in pre-Series C funding.

May 28

Issue 170

Safaricom’s M-Pesa obtains final license in Ethiopia.

May 21

Issue 169

Nomba raises $30 million in Pre-Series B funding.

May 07

Issue 168

OurPass expands to business banking.

Apr 23

Issue 167

Peach Payments raises $31 million Series A round

Apr 09

Issue 166

Payday raises $3 million in seed funding

Apr 02

Issue 165

FairMoney acquires PayForce

Mar 19

Issue 164

Bankserv and SARB launch PayShap in South Africa.

Mar 12

Issue 163

MFS Africa partners with Western Union for cross-border payments.

Mar 05

Issue 162

Ethiopia proposes $150 million license fee for mobile money operators

Feb 19

Issue 161

Umba launches in Kenya

Feb 12

Issue 160

MNT-Halan completes a $400 million funding round

Feb 05

Issue 159

CBN launches AfriGo domestic card scheme

Jan 29

Issue 157

Ghana is set to reduce the e-levy rate to 1%

Nov 28

Issue 156

Chipper Cash acquires Zoona

Nov 20

Issue 155

Quona Capital raises a $322 million venture fund

Nov 13

Issue 154

MTN finalises approval for partnership with Sanlam

Nov 06

Issue 153

Yellow Card obtains VASP license in Botswana.

Oct 30

Issue 152

Nigeria signs the Nigerian Startup Bill into Law

Oct 23

Issue 151

Telda raises $20 million in seed funding.

Oct 16

Issue 150

Safaricom obtains final approval for M-Pesa rollout in Ethiopia

Oct 09

Issue 149

Yellow Card raises $40 million Series B round

Sep 25

Issue 148

Ebanx expands into Africa

Sep 18

Issue 147

NowNow closes $13 million seed round

Sep 11

Issue 146

Pezesha raises $11 million in funding

Sep 04

Issue 145

Google Wallet launches in South Africa.

Aug 28

Issue 144

Pastel raises $5.5 million in seed funding

Aug 21

Issue 143

Float acquires Accounteer

Aug 14

Issue 142

TymeBank acquires Retail Capital

Aug 07

Issue 141

Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) raises €110 million

Jul 31

Issue 140

Bizao raises €8 million in Series A funding

Jul 24

Issue 139

Bloc acquires Orchestrate.

Jul 17

Issue 138

MNT-Halan raises $150 million from securitised bond issuance

Jul 10

Issue 137

Fido raises $30m in Series A funding.

Jun 26

Issue 136

MFS Africa completes $100m Series C extension

Jun 19

Issue 135

MFS Africa acquires Global Technology Partners for $34m

Jun 12

Issue 134

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) launches Squad.

Jun 05

Issue 133

NetPOS receives approval from NIBSS for contactless payments

May 29

Issue 132

MTN and Airtel launch Payment Service Banks (PSBs) in Nigeria

May 22

Issue 131

Nigeria’s SEC issues new regulation on digital assets

May 15

Issue 130

PayMob raises $50m in Series B funding.

May 08

Issue 129

MoniePoint expands into business banking

Apr 24

Issue 128

MTN Nigeria receives final approval for Payment Service Bank (PSB)

Apr 17

Issue 127

Ziroopay raises $11.4m Series A

Apr 10

Issue 126

Ghanaian parliament passes e-levy bill.

Apr 03

Issue 125

United Bank of Africa Partners with Cellulant to extend payment services.

Mar 20

Issue 124

Sudo Africa secures $3.7m pre-seed funding

Mar 11

Issue 123

Chari acquires AXA Credit for $22m

Mar 06

Issue 122

Flutterwave raises $250m in Series D funding

Feb 27

Issue 121

Thndr storms Egyptian WealthTech with $20M Series A round

Feb 13

Issue 120

DPO group plans Nigerian expansion, secures licence for One Payment

Jan 30

Issue 119

Float raises $17 million in a seed round

Jan 23

Issue 118

Lipa Later raises $12 million pre-Series A

Jan 16

Issue 117

Tanzanian government plans CBDC

Dec 05

Issue 116

Airtel Mobile Money receives $125 million in new funding

Nov 28

Issue 115

Payments at the speed of sound, as Paga partners with LISNR in Nigeria

Nov 19

Issue 114

Mo' money in mobile money as MFS Africa raises $100m series C

Nov 12

Issue 113

MTN & Airtel receive their PSB licences in Nigeria

Nov 05

Issue 112

CBN launches the eNaira.

Oct 31

Issue 111

Mono raises $15m Series A

Oct 17

Issue 110

Central Bank of Nigeria releases guidelines for the eNaira

Oct 10

Issue 109

Green Light for Yellow Card, raises $15m in Series A funding

Sep 05

Issue 108

Finclusion acquires payroll startup, HelloHR

Sep 26

Issue 107

Dopay raises $18m in Series A funding.

Sep 19

Issue 106

Wave cruises to a $200 Million Series A round

Sep 13

Issue 105

Zip acquires Payflex for an undisclosed amount

Sep 05

Issue 104

Sufficient Funds - Opay raises $400m at a $2bn valuation.

Aug 28

Issue 103

On Visa's business model and how it can add value in Africa

Aug 22

Issue 102

Regulation of digital lending companies is imminent in Kenya

Aug 15

Issue 101

Big Bank Theory - Kuda raises $55 million in Series B round

Aug 08

Issue 100

Yoco raises $83m in Series C funding.

Aug 01

Issue 99

Tanzania to review recently introduced mobile money tax due to public outcry

Jul 25

Issue 98

Afrexim Bank pilots Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS)

Jul 18

Issue 97

Central Bank of Nigeria releases new guidelines for mobile money services

Jul 11

Issue 96

FairMoney raises $42M in Series B funding

Jul 04

Issue 95

Chaka obtains SEC's first license for digital brokerage

Jun 26

Issue 94

Uganda unveils its first regulatory sandbox

Jun 20

Issue 93

Telkom launches virtual card for WhatsApp transactions

Jun 13

Issue 92

Chipper Cash raises $100M in Series C round to fund growth strategy

Jun 06

Issue 91

Uganda issues its first fintech license to MTN and Airtel for over $2.8m

May 30

Issue 90

MTN South Africa receives $2million investment from the IFC

May 23

Issue 89

Safaricom set to integrate M-Pesa into Amazon

May 16

Issue 88

Branch International acquires Kenya’s Century Microfinance Bank

May 09

Issue 87

MTN and Safaricom-led consortium formally submit bids for Ethiopian telecom license

May 02

Issue 86

Okra raises $3.5m in seed funding round

Apr 25

Issue 85

Mobile money daily global transactions hit $2 Billion

Apr 18

Issue 84

Mastercard to invest $100m in Airtel mobile money operations.

Apr 04

Issue 83

Kuda secures $25m Series A round to fund growth strategy

Mar 21

Issue 82

Flutterwave raises $170m in series C round, rides to unicorn valuation

Mar 07

Issue 81

Mastercard and MTN announce Mobile Money partnership

Feb 28

Issue 80

Is MTN officially entering the IMTO space?

Feb 21

Issue 79

Nigeria’s Central Bank orders financial institutions to close crypto accounts

Feb 07

Issue 78

POS and NIP transactions in Nigeria hit $428 billion in 2020

Jan 31

Issue 77

JumiaPay records almost 50% YoY growth in Q3 2020

Nov 15

Issue 76

Ghanaian Government to purchase 100% shares of Airtel for $25 Million.

Nov 01

Issue 75

Stripe agrees to acquire Paystack.

Oct 26

Issue 74

Ethio Telecom receives approval to launch mobile money services.

Oct 11

Issue 73

OPay and WorldRemit partner to offer international mobile money transfer services.

Sep 20

Issue 72

Nigeria's SEC proposes regulatory framework for trading crypto

Sep 13

Issue 71

Digital Currency Group (DCG) acquires Luno for an undisclosed fee

Sep 06

Issue 70

POS transactions volume hits all-time high as lockdown eases in Nigeria.

Aug 30

Issue 69

Opera partners with MobiMagic to launch Nanobank

Aug 23

Issue 68

Agents turnover and illegal taxes in the Nigerian agent banking sector.

Aug 16

Issue 67

And then there was Fintech!

Aug 09

Issue 66

Visa to incorporate cryptocurrencies into its payments network.

Aug 02

Issue 65

More consolidation as Network International (NI) set to acquire DPO group for $288m

Jul 26

Issue 64

CBN issues GSI guidelines for lenders

Jul 19

Issue 63

Safaricom loses petition to limit free mobile money transactions.

Jul 12

Issue 62

Opay pauses ride-hailing and logistics services indefinitely.

Jul 05

Issue 61

Orange, MTN, Safaricom among 12 operators vying for Ethiopian mobile licence

Jun 28

Issue 60

Why are virtual cards all the rage for African Fintech?

Jun 21

Issue 59

Uber Partners with Flutterwave to launch Uber Cash in Africa.

Jun 14

Issue 58

Ghana targets 85% financial inclusion by 2023

Jun 07

Issue 57

Uganda passes bill to regulate digital payments.

May 31

Issue 56

Continued growth in adoption of cryptocurrency for remittance within Africa

May 24

Issue 55

JumiaPay records 71.8% growth in Q1 2020

May 17

Issue 54

Remita partners with Cellulant on payment technology

May 10

Issue 53

M-Pesa goes global, announces partnership with Visa

May 03

Issue 52

Yoco goes online!

Apr 26

Issue 51

South Africa proposes guidelines to regulate cryptocurrency.

Apr 19

Issue 50

South Africa's IFWG launches fintech regulatory playground

Apr 12

Issue 49

Safaricom and Vodacom jointly acquire the M-Pesa brand from Vodafone

Apr 05

Issue 48

GSMA releases 2019 Industry Report on Mobile Money.

Mar 29

Issue 47

How is African fintech reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Mar 22

Issue 46

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) insists on no devaluation, fines over 100 BDC operators

Mar 15

Issue 45

How much did African startups raise in 2019?

Mar 08

Issue 44

Is Jumia pivoting to fintech?

Mar 01

Issue 43

Another jumbo fundraising round for Jumo

Feb 23

Issue 42

MoneyGram introduces FastSend for payments to mobile phone numbers.

Feb 16

Issue 41

Tolaram Group, makers of Indomie Noodles, to launch digital bank in Africa

Feb 09

Issue 40

East Africa plans to launch a regional currency by 2024.

Feb 02

Issue 39

E-payment transactions in Nigeria hit $288 billion in 2019

Jan 26

Issue 38

Access Bank acquires Transnational Bank Plc.

Jan 19

Issue 37

Visa to acquire Plaid for $5.3 billion.

Jan 12

Issue 36

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mandates banks to reduce transfer fees & ATM withdrawal charges

Jan 05

Issue 35

Chipper Cash raises $6M for Southern Africa expansion.

Dec 16

Issue 34

Ghanaian government to launch a universal QR code payment system.

Dec 08

Issue 33

Ghanaian government to launch a universal QR code payment system.

Nov 24

Issue 31

Cellulant and Tawakal in a €2m partnership deal with PiPiT.

Nov 18

Issue 30

Visa to acquire a 20% stake in Interswitch, valuing it at $1 billion.

Nov 11

Issue 29

The United Kingdom to deepen fintech partnership with Nigeria.

Nov 03

Issue 28

Verve partners with GhIPSS to launch Verve cards in Ghana.

Oct 27

Issue 26

Vodacom Tanzania extends payment system to other networks.

Oct 06

Issue 25

Airtel Africa announces partnership with Mastercard in Africa.

Oct 06

Issue 24

SA fintech startup Yoco launches new card machine.

Sep 29

Issue 23

MTN and Ericsson launch mobile money open API platform in Ghana.

Sep 22

Issue 22

Payments giant Stripe debuts Corporate Card.

Sep 15

Issue 21

San Francisco based African fintech startup, Chipper Cash, expands to Nigeria.

Sep 08

Issue 20

MTN Nigeria officially launches mobile money operations.

Sep 01

Issue 19

WhatsApp in talks to launch mobile payments in Indonesia.

Aug 25

Issue 18

Paga, a Nigerian mobile money operator, crosses NGN 1.5 trillion (~$4.1b) in processed transactions.

Aug 18

Issue 17

MTN is bringing back its mobile money service to South Africa 3 years after it shut down the platform.

Aug 11

Issue 16

Nairobi-based payment services provider DPO Group acquires South Africa's PayFast, a payments processing service.

Aug 04

Issue 15

Afreximbank launches continent-wide digital payment system.

Jan 01

Issue 13

South Sudan has officially launched its first mobile money service.

Jan 01

Issue 13

Vodacom and Mastercard partner to launch a digital wallet and payments app called VodaPay Masterpass.

Jan 01

Issue 12

Telecom Egypt and Banque Misr announce partnership to launch WE mobile wallet.

Jan 01

Issue 10

Ghana tipped to be fastest growing mobile money market in Africa by World Bank.

Jan 01

Issue 8

Adyen partners with Cellulant, expands global payment offering to Africa.

Jan 01

Issue 7

Cheque usage declines in Ghana as mobile money use grows.

Jun 02

Issue 6

All government transactions in Ghana to go cashless and electronic by June 2020.

Jan 01

Issue 5

Senegalese startup Comparez allows users in 9 African countries pay on Amazon and Jumia with mobile money.

Jan 01

Issue 4

MTN pays 17 million cedis (~$3.3m) as interest on mobile money in Q1 2019.

Jan 01