WayaWaya, a Kenyan firm constructing AI-powered monetary services for banks and retailers, has partnered with microfinance financial institution Choice Bank to increase its platform with banking services.
The service, WayaWaya Banking, will permit prospects to open financial institution accounts, maintain funds in a number of currencies, make native and worldwide transfers, and pay utilities by means of a platform regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). Under the partnership, Choice Bank will present the regulated banking infrastructure, whereas WayaWaya will construct the know-how and handle the client expertise.
The partnership is WayaWaya’s newest effort to strengthen its banking relationships because it prepares for growth. In July, the corporate appointed Raj Singh, a former Group Chief Operating Officer and Director of Retail Banking at Chase Bank Kenya, as a non-executive director and board adviser to assist information its technique, governance and growth. At the time, Teddy Ogallo, founder and CEO of WayaWaya, described the appointment as “an important point” within the firm’s progress.
“Traditionally, banks build applications around products and expect customers to adapt to them. We believe the future should be the opposite: banking should adapt to the customer,” Ogallo stated in a press release on Friday. “Whether you are an entrepreneur, a salaried professional or an investor, your banking experience should reflect what you actually need to accomplish financially.”
Founded in 2016 by Ogallo, WayaWaya develops digital banking instruments for people and companies. Its newest providing builds on a method to use AI to interpret prospects’ monetary exercise and decide which banking services must be most seen and accessible to them.
The firm calls this strategy Intelligent Adaptive Banking. WayaWaya will use AI to tailor the banking interface to how folks earn, spend, save and make investments. The personalisation can be designed to evolve as prospects’ monetary circumstances change. If a salaried buyer begins a enterprise, the platform might recognise the change of their monetary exercise and provides extra prominence to instruments for receiving enterprise funds and monitoring bills.
“We are building technology that can interpret financial activity and identify patterns that help determine which services, tools and information are most relevant to a customer,” Ogallo stated. “The idea is to move beyond customers having to search for financial services. Instead, the platform can increasingly anticipate their needs and make relevant financial capabilities accessible within their banking environment.”
WayaWaya stated its AI analyses patterns in prospects’ incoming and outgoing transactions, spending behaviour, account balances, fee frequency and recurring transactions. Ogallo stated the know-how is meant to determine patterns and floor related services whereas leaving prospects in management, acknowledging that particular person transactions don’t all the time present the complete context of somebody’s monetary behaviour.
Choice Bank is central to delivering these services. The microfinance financial institution offers utility programming interface (API) banking options, banking-as-a-service, personal banking and international alternate services. Its infrastructure will allow prospects to entry banking services inside WayaWaya’s app.
“Through this partnership, Choice Bank will provide the banking infrastructure that enables WayaWaya users to access banking services within the app,” stated Patrick Russel, Choice Bank’s chief industrial officer. “WayaWaya can then tailor how those services are presented to a business owner managing daily collections or an individual setting money aside.”
WayaWaya is coming into a market with deeply established digital monetary services. Kenya had 54 million mobile money subscriptions in June 2026, in accordance to the Communications Authority of Kenya. Safaricom’s M-PESA accounted for 88.8% of these subscriptions, whereas Airtel Money held 11.1%. WayaWaya acknowledges M-Pesa’s function in shaping the market however says its proposition extends past cellular cash transactions.
“M-Pesa transformed how Kenyans transact, and we recognise that contribution. Our ambition is different. We are bringing together broader banking capabilities, including multi-currency accounts, local and international transfers and utility payments, within an intelligent banking environment,” Ogallo stated. “What differentiates WayaWaya is that we don’t just provide financial services; we are building technology that adapts how customers access and experience those services.”
The firm stated it desires to take this mannequin past Kenya, counting on banks and monetary infrastructure suppliers in different African markets. However, increasing the mannequin would require native banking partnerships and regulatory approvals in every market.
“A business expanding from Kenya into Nigeria or Uganda should not have to navigate an entirely disconnected financial experience in every market,” Ogallo stated. “Our ambition is to make financial services more interconnected, accessible and responsive to the needs of African individuals and businesses.”
