Uruguayan fintech firm dLocal receives regulatory approval to operate in Kenya
Uruguayan fintech dLocal on Tuesday announced that the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had granted it a payment service license to operate in the country.
The payment processing platform that offers solutions for payments and payouts also received the same license from the National Bank of Rwanda. They are based in Uruguay and serve global merchants and consumers in emerging markets primarily in Latin America.
The licenses will further facilitate payments and improve the technological experience for their merchant customers. It also means that dLocal can now process local payments in Kenya and Rwanda, quickly and easily without relying on a third-party provider, while ensuring regulatory compliance.
“Africa is forecast to surpass half a billion e-Commerce users by 2025, which will have shown a steady 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of online consumers for the market,” Adebiyi Aromolaran, Head of Expansion Africa at dLocal said.
“The continent continues to show tremendous untapped e-Commerce opportunities, and people in Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda are encouraged to use more and more digital payments every day by new regulations and payment opportunities.”
Following the recent implementations of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) “Cashless” policy and the launch of its national domestic card scheme, AfriGo, dLocal is set to take center stage in countries like Nigeria where it is already licensed to operate. The granted PSP licenses in Kenya and Rwanda are just as significant.
“The regulatory payment framework in African emerging countries varies immensely. Receiving payment service provider licenses in all three countries, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda are great milestones in our mission to be a truly local payment partner for our global merchants, and the licenses advance our objective to leverage the scalability of our technology to broaden our geographic footprint in Africa,” Adebiyi added.
Kenya is one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa, making it an attractive market for international merchants looking to expand their customer base. Meanwhile, Rwanda’s startup ecosystem ranks in Africa’s top 10, and its capital city, Kigali, ranks 2nd in East Africa. The potential of its e-commerce market is projected to reach 5.89m users by 2027.
With dLocal, international merchants are able to accept cash, mobile money, locally issued cards, Visa and Mastercard debit, credit and prepaid cards, thanks to the “One dLocal” concept (one direct API, one platform and one contract).
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