Nigerian fintech company Flutterwave has partnered with Token.io, Europe’s leading account-to-account payment infrastructure provider, to make it easier and faster for Africans in the UK and EU to transfer money back home.

This partnership will see Flutterwave integrate Pay By Bank transfer functionality on its platform to enable African e-commerce merchants to reach a wider audience. Pay By Bank commonly known as A2A payments is a fast and secure way to money between bank accounts.

Similarly, Token.io can now leverage Flutterwave’s presence in Africa to roll out its Pay By Bank option for companies across the continent. The A2A payments also offer merchants cost savings compared to traditional payment methods and settle instantly to improve cash flow.

Speaking of its partnership with Token.io, Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola said,

“Our partnership with Token.io will make it even faster and easier for individuals and businesses to pay and receive money. By partnering with Token.io to provide Account-to-Account payments to our customers, Flutterwave will advance its mission of connecting Africa to the global economy.”

Also commenting on its collaboration with Fluttewave, CEO of Token.io Todd Clyde said,

“We are confident that Token.io’s infrastructure will help Flutterwave offer its customers a more comprehensive payment solution, with A2A payments being a key part of this for UK, Europe, Middle East, and Africa corridors. This partnership underscores our commitment to enabling payment providers to grow with open banking powered A2A payments, which are projected to exceed 6.5 billion in annual global volumes by 2027.”

Powered by open banking, Token.io’s A2A infrastructure enables payment provider to launch their own A2A payment capabilities to grow their market share. Token.io offers the highest performing and deepest connectivity for open banking-powered A2A payments in the industry, reaching over 567 million bank accounts (80%+ of accounts per market) in 16 European countries.

Investors King understands that Pay By Bank functionality will soon be available on Send by Flutterwave, Flutterwave’s cross-border payment platform. 

Unlimit, the leading global fintech and payment solutions company, is thrilled to announce its entry into the Kenyan market and the receiver of the Central Bank of Kenya license, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing expansion throughout Africa.

This strategic move follows Unlimit’s recent acquisition of the Central Bank of Nigeria license, solidifying the company’s official recognition as a reputable provider of payment solutions within the region.

As part of its strategic expansion, Unlimit is committed to delivering an unparalleled payment experience by integrating internationally acclaimed payment best practices, industry-leading security protocols, comprehensive merchant analytics, and a customer-friendly interface.

By offering diverse payment solutions, Unlimit will cater to the preferences and support the unique requirements of local enterprises in Kenya. This milestone demonstrates Unlimit’s dedication to advancing the payment landscape in Africa and empowering businesses with cutting-edge payment solutions.

Trevor Goott, Director for Africa, and India at Unlimit, expressed immense enthusiasm about the company’s African expansion and its entry into the Kenyan market. “It gives me great pleasure to bring on board Kenya as our second African country, following the recent announcement of the awarding of our Nigerian license,” said Goott.

“We are also pleased to add Kenya to our global portfolio for our foreign merchants seeking access to the Kenyan market. The high demand from our international merchants to establish local operations in Kenya has further motivated us to enter the market. Also, given its strategic location in East Africa, Kenya serves as an ideal hub for the expansion of our operations in the region.”

Commenting on the expansion, Unlimit’s CEO, Kirill Evstratov, said: “We have ambitious plans for Kenya and East Africa, and are looking forward to supporting local businesses on their expansion goals. For 14 years we have successfully been aiding companies worldwide to enter new markets and go beyond borders, strengthening their business outreach and expanding their customer base. Now, we are bringing those years of expertise to Africa. Our unwavering ambition is to establish ourselves as the benchmark in the payments processing industry, setting the standard for excellence and innovation, and allowing companies around the globe to go borderless with their payments. ”

Over the last 15 years, Kenya has emerged as a leading force in the African payment ecosystem, gaining global recognition for its ground-breaking mobile money revolution. This

innovation has not only propelled Kenya’s economy forward but has also facilitated business expansion for numerous companies. Leveraging mobile payment technology, Kenya has created a robust payment infrastructure that presents promising opportunities for domestic and foreign enterprises seeking to establish a presence there. By expanding its operations to Kenya, Unlimit strengthens its position in the continent’s payment landscape as part of its mission to lead Africa’s payment evolution in the coming years.

Tech giant Apple has unveiled its first major product in almost a decade, a new $3,5000 virtual reality headset that will be launched to consumers in early 2024.

The headset which has reportedly been in development for seven years, is intended to overlay virtual reality experiences and digital apps onto the real world.

Announcing the Apple Vision Pro Virtual reality headset at the annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, the company’s CEO Tim Cook said, “It is the first Apple product you look through not at”.

The Apple Vision Pro is a wearable headset that creates an augmented reality experience with everything from work meetings and meditation to movies and games.

It can also be used for work with video conferencing apps, Microsoft Office tools, or Adobe Lightroom.  While wearing the headset, users can browse by looking or making hand gestures.

The Vision Pro will run on visionOS, a new spatial computing platform designed specifically for the company’s new headset to enable developers to build apps as they would for iOS on the iPhone.

Investors King understands that the unveiling of the Vision Pro reality headset marks the first major product launch for Apple since the Apple Watch in 2015.

But it’s unclear how large the demand is for the headset. However, a Bloomberg analysis estimates that the product will generate the company $1.5 billion U.S. in sales, or 0.5 percent of the company’s revenue base.

Also, industry experts say that while some might be skeptical about the adoption of the product, it can take time for new devices to find their place in the market.

Apple’s reality headset unveiling comes days after social media giant Meta announced its new virtual and mixed reality headset, Meta Quest 3, set to launch later this year. The Vision Pro introduces Apple as a new competitor in the virtual reality market.

It is understood that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple’s Tim Cook have been public adversaries for years on issues central to the tech industry.