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

WayaPay, which describes itself as a Kenyan FinTech based in the United States, says it has launched its full-service digital bank and money-transfer app tailored to the needs of immigrants from Africa.

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

The app was co-founded by Dr. David Wachira and Hempstone Maroria, according to WayaPay. Amayo said the app and bank have all their required U.S. approvals, the company’s announcement states.

The app allows free money transfers to other users and purchasing through bank cards linked to the app.  The company states that users of the app can open bank accounts “within minutes” and send money to mobile wallets in more than 10 countries 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 website.

The app, according to the company, will allow easy transfer of funds from U.S. banks to WayaPay users. The company stated that a result will be that African immigrants will have a chance 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 said in a prepared statement.

PYMNTS noted that in some African countries — Nigeria, for example — the market for banking apps could be huge because far more people have mobile devices than have bank accounts.

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

Wachira, who used to be an official at the World Bank, said Africans around the world send $50 billion home every year but lose $3 billion to unexpected fees and high rates on foreign exchange 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 said.