Flutterwave Obtains License In Egypt Marking Expansion Into North Africa

Flutterwave, a prominent African payments technology company, has announced today that it has received its Payment Services Provider and Payments Facilitator licenses in Egypt.

The licenses will enable Flutterwave to act as an official payment service provider in the country, collect payments on behalf of its customers and settle payments locally and globally. These licences will allow Flutterwave to deploy Flutterwave for Business suite of products including store, payment links, invoices, checkout in Egypt.

Flutterwave, as a result of these licenses, becomes one of the few payment service providers in Egypt with both local and global settlements capabilities.

Flutterwave facilitates cross-border transactions in multiple currencies for global companies, including Uber, PiggyVest, and Bamboo; boasting over 400 million processed transactions in excess of USD 25 B and serving more than one million businesses, as well as individuals.

The new licenses will help the company support international businesses entering the Egyptian market or growing their operations in the country.  Flutterwave will also be in a strong position to empower businesses based in Egypt to expand internationally, in addition to creating new jobs in the country through empowering local businesses.

Commenting on the news, Aalaa Gamal, Regional Manager, North Africa in Expansion & Partnerships, Egypt, said, “We’re excited to receive the payments services provider and facilitator licenses in Egypt. The licenses will enable us to be the go-to payment processor and digital transformation partner for global settlements in Egypt, which enables our customers to expand quickly within or outside of the country. This, for us, is the beginning of other strategic wins in the North Africa and Middle East regions.”

As part of Flutterwave’s expansion initiatives, they have also made it possible for users to send money to Ethiopia via cash pickup. Ethiopians in Diaspora can send money home and have the receivers pick up the cash in Dashen bank branches, Amole Agents and Ethiopian postal service offices.

This development comes as the latest bit of good news as the company looks to move on from a string of controversies that it was mired in last year, adding to the recent news of the legal case against Flutterwave being dropped in Kenya amid political undertones and the acquisition of a prestigious switching and processing license in Nigeria in September 2022.

It also continues the trend of Nigerian fintechs opening up to the lure of the opportunity-laden markets in the MENA region, with the neobank Kuda obtaining a license in Pakistan most recently in addition to earlier efforts by fast-movers OPay and TeamApt who have looked towards Egypt.

On his part, Olugbenga GB Agboola, CEO and Founder of Flutterwave said: “We are proud to have been granted the Payment Services Provider and Payment Facilitator licenses in Egypt, which forms part of our international expansion strategy. This is testament to our commitment to provide first-class payment services, seamlessly connecting businesses to their customers. Our vision is to connect all parts of Africa through payments and connect Africa to the world. This way, it is easier for multinationals expanding into Africa to do so. This achievement is yet another step in that direction. ”

Flutterwave first revealed plans to expand to North Africa after raising USD 170 M in funding, as the CEO Agboola had told The Africa Report that the company will extend its payments network to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

“Flutterwave might then set up a physical presence in those countries, he had said while also stating intentions to expand into francophone Africa as “our network needs to be everywhere” on the continent.

Featured Image Credits: Flutterwave