A new fintech company is seeking to tap into Kenya’s booming remittance market by enabling Cryptocurrency transactions on feature phones, a move it says will cut the transaction cost to just cents.
Sorted Wallet says it aims to simplify cryptocurrency remittances for millions of Kenyans who rely on traditional mobile money platforms like M-Pesa but lack smartphones or internet access.
The firms’ CEO Stephen Brown, said that the country’s established startup network and wide adoption of mobile money will be key in growing their operations.
“Kenya has been a leader in digital payments since 2007-2008. It made sense for us to enter a market where people are already familiar with handling money digitally,” he said.
Sorted Wallet, a digital wallet facilitating payments via USDT, launched two years ago and has since expanded across various African markets, including Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.
According to Brown, traditional remittance companies have made huge profits from people sending money home.
“We want to disrupt that. On our platform, transaction fees are minimal—often as low as one cent,” he said. “We believe blockchain-based payments are the fastest, cheapest, and most secure way for the diaspora to send money home.”
The cost of sending $200 (Sh28, 570) for instance to Sub-Sahara Africa, including Kenya, was costing 7.8 per cent on average in 2023, down from 8.7 per cent in 2022 according to data by the World Bank.
Lowering the cost of sending money remains a key factor in driving diaspora remittances this year, World Bank and industry players now says, amid inflationary pressures on households.
With plans to scale its operations across Africa and deepen its integration with Tether’s ecosystem, Sorted Wallet is positioning itself as a major player in the digital payments landscape.
“In the next five years, we aim to be at the forefront of digital financial solutions, empowering users across Africa with secure, fast, and affordable transactions,” added Brown.
The company is actively targeting Kenyans in the UK and the Middle East, particularly in Dubai, to promote its service as an alternative to traditional remittance providers.
Today, digital platforms enable instant transfers directly into mobile wallets, drastically reducing time and effort.
This digital revolution is crucial in realising Kenya’s ambitious goal of increasing remittances from nearly $500 billion (Sh65 trillion) in 2024 to $1 trillion (Sh129 trillion) by 2027, as envisioned by the State Department for Diaspora Affairs.
“Sorted Wallet aims to provide users with multiple payment options beyond simply holding digital assets. The platform enables users to withdraw funds to their M-Pesa accounts, pay utility bills, and even transfer money to bank accounts in selected countries,” said Brown.
