Flutterwave expands market frontiers across North Africa, Middle East

*Debunks illegal transfer of funds from its Nigeria’s operations

Africa’s payment technology company, Flutterwave, is gearing up to expand its services across North Africa and the Middle East following the recent approval from the Egyptian authority to let it operate as a Payment Service Provider in the country.

The company announced that it received its Payment Services Provider and Payments Facilitator licenses in Egypt, which will enable it act as an official Payment Service Provider in the country, collect payments on behalf of its customers and settle payments locally and globally.

Flutterwave, which is now one of the few payment service providers in Egypt with both local and global settlement capabilities, will now be able to deploy the company for Business suite of products including store, payment links, invoices and checkout in Egypt.

Commenting on how the operational permit in Egypt will deepen its reach across the Middle East and North Africa, MENA region, Regional Manager, North Africa in Expansion & Partnerships, Egypt, Aalaa Gamal, expressed optimism that the recent expansion is a strategic initiative to establish its presence in the MENA region and beyond.

CEO and Founder of Flutterwave, Olugbenga GB Agboola 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.”

Meanwhile, the payment technology company has denied the purported illegal transfer of funds from the fintech company, with netizens taking to social media to express worries.

In a statement, Flutterwave said none of its customers have lost their funds.

The company said the personal and financial information of its customers is critical.

The fintech company said it takes its responsibility seriously and understands that any potential security breach can cause anxiety and concern among its customers.

“We want to reassure you that Flutterwave has not been hacked. As a financial institution, we monitor transactions through our transaction monitoring systems and 24-hour fraud desk and review any suspicious activity,” the statement reads.

Flutterwave said it works with other financial institutions and law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety and security of its ecosystem.

During a routine check of its transaction monitoring system, Flutterwave said it identified an “unusual trend of transactions on some users’ profiles”.

“Our team immediately launched a review (in line with our standard operating procedure), which revealed that some users who had not activated some of our recommended security settings might have been susceptible,” the company said.

“We want to confirm that no user lost any funds, and we take pride in the fact that our security measures were able to address the issue before any harm could be done to our users.

“Our commitment to keeping our users’ financial information safe and secure is why we invest heavily in security initiatives such as periodic audits, certifications, and licenses such as the PCI-DSS & ISO 27001. These are in line with global best practices in information security management.”