CBT grants License to NALA and commits to invest $1Mn

NALA receives a major license from Bank of Tanzania, resulting from close collaboration between NALA and Tanzania’s financial regulators. The fintech company will invest $1m to pursue the opportunities newly available to them. 

Summary

NALA, a Tanzanian fintech company, achieved a major milestone on its mission to build the strongest payments network in Africa. The company was approved by the Central Bank of Tanzania as a Payment Service Provider, which will enable direct integration with banks and mobile money operators such as MPesa. The company is committing to invest $1m off the back of this license to power product innovation in Tanzania. 

NALA, a global payments company born in Tanzania, expanded from the UK and USA to Europe earlier this year. NALA has grown rapidly via geographic expansion, product differentiation and improvement on existing infrastructure. 

NALA recently received its Payment Service Provider License in Tanzania, which is a major milestone as it enables development of a host of new offerings such as business payments, merchants services and outbound payments from Tanzania as well as direct integration with local banks and telcos. NALA will make a major investment of $1m into Tanzania to support this product innovation and create new jobs. 

The license was awarded as part of the ongoing initiatives and efforts of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, to empower young people and to generally foster an environment that makes it simple for businesses like NALA to invest in the nation.

NALA continues its operational activities in Tanzania, as part of advancing our President’s goal to create a country that has advanced in terms of discovery, innovation and technology as a whole.

NALA’s Founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes said, “Two of NALA’s biggest goals in the last year have been enabling direct integration to banks and telcos and tackling the challenges that businesses face in moving money across borders. We have worked closely alongside the Bank of Tanzania to complete the appropriate steps to receive our license as a Payment Service Provider. With this new license in hand, NALA is making a major commitment to invest $1m to build our most ambitious projects ever in our home market of Tanzania.” 

NALA is available for download via the App Store or Play Store from the US, UK and Europe. 

Despite the many options for sending money to Africa from abroad, the continent continues to be the most expensive place to send money to. The World Bank estimates average transfer fees to Africa at ~9%. Further, many existing options include hidden fees that make it hard to discern the true cost of sending money. NALA is working towards changing the paradigm of financial tools for Africans by providing fair and transparent services to empower people with control over their finances. 

About NALA

NALA is an African payments company and one of its core services is a money transfer platform that enables individuals and businesses to make secure and reliable payments from Europe, the UK and US to Africa in seconds.

They are on a mission to increase economic opportunity on the African continent and among its diaspora worldwide. Creating community-powered financial solutions makes it easier to make day-to-day payments and do business in an increasingly global Africa. 

Payments in Africa are 1% built. NALA aspires to bring 21st-century payment technology to Africa to create a low-cost and highly reliable set of payment rails that friends, family, and businesses can use. When payments are simple, reliable, and available at the touch of a button, anything is possible.

By building payment channels and infrastructure, NALA enables lightning-fast payments to the African continent.Their tech is built by world-class engineers from around the world and we are proud to serve all communities, from bustling cities to peaceful villages. We are privileged to partner with these local communities on this journey together.