US payment technology giant Stripe’s Nigerian payment service provider, Paystack, has officially launched in Kenya after completing its private beta phase. The company aims to expand its services to ambitious businesses across Africa and has already established operations in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Paystack obtained authorization from the Central bank of Kenya, the country’s regulator for remittance, banking, and payments, 10 months ago to operate as a payment service provider.
Vikaran Ubhi, Country Lead, Kenya, Paystack said “We’ve worked very closely with a vibrant community of business owners, developers, and partners. Over 700 businesses signed up for the beta, and with each transaction processed, we’ve learned what works best for you, refined our product, and built a service that we’re excited and proud to share with all of Kenya,”
Paystack will compete with Flutterwave, PesaPal, Cellulant, Chipper and other companies including Safaricom’s M-PESA.
Founded by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi in 2015 the company which received support from YCombinator, expanded to Ghana in 2018 and South Africa in 2021. In October 2020, Paystack was acquired by Stripe for $200 million after raising approximately $12 million. In addition to facilitating merchant payments, Paystack’s no-code Commerce tools, similar to Shopify, assist merchants in bringing their ideas to the market and monitoring their business through the Paystack Merchant App.
All businesses in Kenya now have the opportunity to utilize Paystack’s tools to accept online payments through various channels including Cards, Apple Pay and M-PESA. They can also receive settlement in Kenyan Shillings KES and US Dollars USD directly into their preferred bank account.
