Why PayU’s Exit from Kenya Highlights the Complex Future of Global Payments in Africa

In August 2025, PayU confirmed the closure of its Kenyan operations and entered liquidation after six years in the market. The decision was formalized in a Kenya Gazette notice, where members of the company resolved to wind up operations and appointed Sonal Tejpal as liquidator, effective August 19, 2025, under the country’s Insolvency Act.

On the surface, it is a straightforward corporate wind-up. But for observers of Africa’s fintech ecosystem, PayU’s withdrawal raises deeper questions about what it really takes for international payment firms to succeed across the continent.

A Brief History of PayU in Kenya

PayU, a Netherlands-headquartered company owned by Prosus, is one of the world’s largest payment service providers. It operates in more than 50 markets globally, with strong footprints in India, Latin America, and Europe.

In 2019, PayU made its East African debut in Kenya through a partnership with Cellulant, a Nairobi-based fintech. This partnership gave local merchants access to multiple payment methods, including mobile money, bank transfers, and card payments, all integrated into PayU’s global platform. The aim was simple: connect Kenyan businesses seamlessly to both local customers and international markets.

For six years, PayU maintained operations in the region, providing payment rails for e-commerce and digital platforms. The liquidation announcement, however, now brings that chapter to a close.

The Broader African Payments Landscape

PayU’s exit is not just about Kenya. It reflects the broader dynamics of operating in African payments markets, where opportunities are immense but structural challenges remain.

1. The Rise of Mobile Money

Africa is the global leader in mobile money adoption. According to GSMA, mobile money transactions across sub-Saharan Africa surpassed $1 trillion in 2021, with services like M-PESA, Airtel Money, and MTN MoMo transforming how people transact daily. For global players like PayU, entering these markets requires deep integration with mobile money ecosystems, which are often dominated by local telcos and banks.

2. Diverse Regulatory Environments

Africa’s 54 countries mean 54 regulatory regimes. While some, like Nigeria and Kenya, have relatively mature frameworks for digital payments, others are still evolving. Navigating licensing, compliance, and insolvency laws requires significant local expertise. PayU’s liquidation under Kenya’s Insolvency Act illustrates how formalized some of these processes have become.

3. Partnerships as a Market Entry Strategy

PayU’s reliance on Cellulant underscores a wider strategy used by global fintechs: partnering with local firms that understand the regulatory environment, consumer habits, and integration needs. This approach can accelerate entry but also ties international firms to the performance and stability of their local partners.

4. Competition from Local Fintechs

While global firms bring scale and cross-border capabilities, local fintechs often innovate faster and adapt better to consumer realities. Companies like Flutterwave, Chipper Cash, and Cellulant itself have built strong footholds by tailoring solutions to African contexts.

Global Payment Firms in Africa: The Bigger Picture

PayU is not the first global payment company to recalibrate its African ambitions. Other firms have also faced challenges when entering or expanding on the continent, though the outcomes vary.

• Visa and Mastercard have pursued long-term strategies by partnering with African banks and fintech startups, investing in infrastructure, and co-creating products with local players.

• Stripe, through its acquisition of Nigerian startup Paystack, took a different route, buying into Africa’s fintech boom rather than building from scratch.

• WorldRemit and other remittance platforms have expanded successfully by aligning with the strong demand for cross-border money transfers.

What PayU’s exit highlights is that while Africa’s payments market is growing rapidly, success often depends on sustained investment, patient adaptation, and the right balance between global infrastructure and local relevance.

What the Liquidation Means Going Forward

For Kenyan merchants that used PayU, the immediate concern is transitioning to alternative payment service providers. The appointed liquidator, Sonal Tejpal, is tasked with managing the wind-up process, settling debts, and ensuring compliance with Kenya’s insolvency procedures.

For Africa’s fintech ecosystem, the exit is a reminder that scale alone is not enough. Global payments companies need to account for local consumer behavior, entrenched mobile money dominance, and evolving regulatory frameworks if they are to thrive.

PayU’s six-year run in Kenya, ending in liquidation, is more than a local story. It is a case study in the challenges and realities of building a payments business in Africa. The continent remains one of the fastest-growing digital payments frontiers in the world, but success will favor companies, whether global or local—that combine strong technology with a deep understanding of African markets.