SimbaPay is a UK-based money transfer company for sending money from Europe to Africa fast, cheaply and safely. The fintech was founded by Nyasinga Onyancha, a former investment banker, and Sagini Onyancha, online marketer and strategist.
SimbaPay was the RemTECH Awards winner for Best B2B Solution 2018, African Banker Awards 2019, Barclays Techstars 2016 alumnus and overall winner for DEMO Africa 2015.
How SimbaPay Works
SimbaPay Registration
To be able to send money using SimbaPay, you need to first register for free. Registration can be done on SimbaPay website or SimbaPay app for Android and iOS.
During your registration, SimbaPay will require your birthday to verify your identity by passing it to credit agencies for compliance with anti-money laundering legislation. Once your verified information is received from credit agencies, SimbaPay conducts a credit or/and behavioural score for you. These credit checks will not affect your credit record or rating. If we are unable to verify you with the details provided, we will request identification documents.
Once you have successfully registered you can go ahead and make your first transfer. Your transfer can be done via the app, website or SMS (without internet).
SimbaPay uses an artificial intelligence powered chatbot service that enables money transfer through SMS. The chatbot is run by a computer program designed to simulate conversation with users. Making money transfer through SMS is only allowed in Kenya.
How Do I Pay for SimbaPay Money Transfer?
You can fund your SimbaPay transfer with a debit/credit card or bank transfer. To fund your transfer with a debit card, you will need to provide a picture of the last four digits (with the first digits concealed) along with expiry date and name to ensure ownership of your card. There may be fees for using your debit/credit card, which are not under SimbaPay’s control. You should find this out from your card provider.
How Will My Recipient Receive SimbaPay Money Transfer?
Your beneficiary can receive the money in their bank account or mobile wallets such as M-Pesa in Kenya, MTN Mobile Money in Ghana and Cameroon, Tigo, Airtel and Vodacom in Tanzania, and Airtel Mobile Money and MTN Mobile Money in Uganda. SimbaPay send money to all banks in supported countries. For money transfers to China from Kenya, your beneficiary can receive via WeChat.
What Are SimbaPay Transfer Limits?
International money transfer limits vary depending on the money transfer service you are using. Each service has its own transfer limits which can be daily, monthly or annual. The minimum daily amount you can send with SimbaPay is 10 GBP and the maximum daily limit is 2000 GBP.
How Fast is SimbaPay Money Transfer?
Money transfers to mobile wallets are paid out instantly unless it is your first transaction with SimbaPay. Your first transaction may take up to 2 business hours to process due to the identity verification procedures for new customers.
What Are SimbaPay Fees and Exchange Rate?
SimbaPay fees depend on the country of destination. For example, if you send 500 GBP to Ghana from the UK, your recipient will receive 3,764 GHS and your fee will be 7 GBP. This means your total to pay will be 507 GBP. If you send 500 GBP to Nigeria from the UK, your recipient will receive 252,393 NGN and your fee will be 5 GBP. Your total to pay will be 505 GBP. SimbaPay charges a difference between its exchange rate and mid-market exchange rates.
We are compensated for the foreign exchange risk we take given we offer our customers fixed exchange rates. Market exchange rates do change every second, however we understand out customers prefer knowing exactly how much they have to pay and exacty how much their loved ones will receive.
Which Countries Can I Send Money to Using SimbaPay?
You can use SimbaPay to send money from Europe to Cameroon, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda. You can also send money to China from Kenya. Note that the US is not covered by SimbaPay at the moment.
Is SimbaPay Safe?
SimbaPay is licensed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. It is PCI DSS (the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant and certified. PCI standards ensure that companies such as SimbaPay that process credit card information maintain a secure environment to eliminate credit card fraud.
SimbaPay Reviews
SimbaPay has a poor rating of 2.6/5 on Trustpilot. However, the rating is from only 4 reviews. SimbaPay app has a rating of 3.8/5 on Google Play Store and 2.9/5 on Apple Store.