Kenya's Central Bank order Banks to End Partnership with Flutterwave and Chipper Cash
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has command all commercial banks, micro-finance banks and mortgage banks that partner with Flutterwave and Chipper Cash to immediately cease their partnership with the Africa Unicorn Fintechs, in a circular dated 29 of July, 2022.
According to Matu Mugo, which is the deputy director of the bank supervision at CBK said in the circular that it has come to the bank attention that Flutterwave and Chipper Cash are work without an authorized PSB license.
It has come to the attention of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) that Flutterwave Payments Technology Limited (Flutterwave) and Chipper Technologies Kenya Limited (Chipper) have been engaging in Money Remittance and Payment Services without licensing and authorisation by CBK.
- Matu Mugo
You are therefore directed to immediately cease and desist from dealing with Flutterwave and Chipper.
- The circular reads.
This circular is coming a day after the apex bank accused that Chipper Cash and Flutterwave are not licensed by CBk to operate in Kenya as remittance operators and payment service Bank (PSB).
Flutterwave is not licensed to operate as a remittance provider or for that matter as a PSB service provider in Kenya. They are not licensed to operate and therefore they shouldn’t be operating. We can also say the same for Chipper Cash,” CBK’s governor, Patrick Njoroge, said during a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday, July 28.
In a response to the CBK’s July 28 comment on July 28, obtained by TechCabal, Flutterwave had said that it entered Kenya through partnership with “banks and mobile operators licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya”. The company also claimed that it submitted an application to operate as a payment service provider in the country and has been in constant engagement with the CBK to ensure that it provides all the requirements for licensing and is consequently awaiting the issuance of the license.
Partnering Banks were given 7weeks ultimatum - starting from July 29, 2022, to confirm compliance with the directives of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
