Mukuru features this year in the 100 most important cross-border payment companies in the world. The Cross-Border Payments 100 List is published annually by global financial data company, FXC Intelligence, which tracks more than 14,000 players in the space to find the 100 businesses that are the cream of the crop.
To be awarded a place on this prestigious list, companies have to meet these criteria:
- Be of a certain scale. This is not a startup or VC list of which there are many. It is also not a challengers list (although Mukuru was listed as one of the leading 150 cross-border companies globally in the 2020 FXC intelligence Incumbents vs Challengers in Cross-Border Payments).
- Companies do not have to have raised outside funds, but they must have an established customer base.
- Cross-border payments must either be the primary activity (for payment companies), or a substantial revenue line (for banks, payment processors or card companies).
Only the businesses that passed the ultimate sense check – If we removed the company, would it have a meaningful impact on the sector? – made it onto the list.
Growing an African fintech giant
From humble beginnings as a two-man band in 2004, to an African fintech giant in 2021, the Mukuru journey has involved constant innovation; harnessing robust digital platforms in an at-times complex African context, to grow critical products and services that add value to customers’ lives. Mukuru’s product suite has evolved from a simple international remittance service, to a wide range of offerings that include Mukuru Groceries, Mukuru Funeral Cover and the Mukuru Money Card.
The business’s track record includes more than 50 million transactions and 8 million customers served across a payments network that spans more than 100 corridors and 70 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe – strengthened by 80+ partnerships such as WorldRemit, Airtel, Thunes and Shoprite that enable 320,000 pay-in and pay-out points, as well as branches and 1,000 Mukuru Orange Booths in rural and peri-rural areas.
Mukuru CEO, Andy Jury, says of the group’s success, “There is a balance that has to be achieved as a fintech provider that is both ‘high tech’ and ‘high touch’, particularly because Mukuru has been built on top of a homegrown African DNA that has always taken its cue from what customers are asking of us at any given moment.
“By constantly gaining customer feedback and participation,” Jury says, “we have been able to build a highly robust and resilient financial payments infrastructure across Southern Africa – with our physical presence now unlocking new value in the digital sphere and providing important, value-added services to our loyal customers.”
Why is this list important?
List publisher, FXC Intelligence, is the industry standard for global payments data. They specialise in international payments, payment cards and ecommerce industries with a focus on pricing data which feeds directly into the strategies and pricing engines of their clients; allowing them to make better and faster decisions.
Further information about Mukuru, one of Africa’s largest remittances-led fintech’s, can be found here via our website. If you have any questions or would like to discuss an opportunity, please get in touch at [email protected].
