The Dawn of FinTech Regulation for Digital Lenders

In this edition, in this edition we share some of the big stories making rounds around Africa. Plus, check out the speakers of the the upcoming Africa InsureTech Forum happening this Thursday—and what that means for you.

Pesapal Upgrades Core System to Accelerate Payment Security

Pesapal, a payment solutions provider has upgraded its API to Pesapal 3.0, allowing for the delivery of enhanced security features as well as an improved user experience/ user interface for merchants and?consumers across all the markets. As part of the API upgrade to Pesapal 3.0, Pesapal has adopted the 3-D Secure processing for card payments and introduced Sim Tool Kit (STK) for mobile money payments.

These new components of Pesapal 3.0 have improved the UI/UX for not only end-users but also for developers. Additionally, these changes specify the use of multiple options for step-up authentication eliminating instances of fraud and chargebacks. Read More

The Dawn of FinTech Regulation for Digital Lenders

FinTech plays a crucial role in boosting financial inclusion of underserved segments of the population. Digital credit financing is increasingly being channelled towards supporting cashflows of households and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The advent of digital lending was brought about by various factors including advances in technological innovations, social and economic barriers to traditional sources of credit and more recently, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which propelled digitisation to the forefront.

For a while, Kenya suffered a digital lending regulatory lacuna because we had no regulations governing these products. This resulted in public outcry when a few rogue digital lenders took advantage of the unregulated space. We saw a range of malpractices including excessively high costs of credit, unethical debt collection practices and abuse of personal information. Read More

Ruto Comes To The Rescue Of 4M Kenyans Listed On CRB

President William Ruto on Wednesday announced that at least four million Kenyans will be opted out of the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) listing. The President attended a press briefing by Safaricom, KCB, NCBA briefing on financial inclusion at the Norfolk Hotel that also saw new discounted traffics of overdraft service Fuliza announced.

Addressing the joint press conference in the company of Safaricom, KCB and NCBA CEOs, Ruto said at least 4 – 5?million Kenyans, million Kenyans will be delisted from the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) listing. Read More

Meet The Winners Of ‘Hack The Mara’ Hackathon

Mara Foundation has announced the winners of the 2022 ‘Hack the Mara’ hackathon. The awards recognise the top three teams with the most viable business proposals that will advance long-term beneficial, social and environmental change within the Maasai Mara, across Africa and beyond.

The Mara Hackathon celebrates African Web3 developers and innovators who are working to solve last-mile payment tracking challenges and strengthen the financial sustainability of ongoing conservation projects in the Mara for better livelihoods. The winners emerged after proposal submissions and a week-long physical hackathon that was held in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, where they built prototypes of their solutions. Read More

Meet the InsureTech Forum Speakers

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