Kenya’s WapiPay targets billions in diaspora cash to unlock credit for households

WapiPay, a Kenyan fintech startup focused on digitising cross-border payments and remittances between Africa and Asia, has launched a credit scoring tool for Kenyan commercial banks, which it says will help lenders use diaspora remittances to make loan decisions for millions of households that rely on money sent by relatives abroad.

Founded in 2019 by Eddie Ndichu and his brother Paul Ndichu as an international money transfer and foreign exchange provider, the startup is betting on its Remittance Credit Scorecard (RCS) tool to analyse money transfer patterns of financial institutions to factor that into lending decisions.

“For too long, the regularity of remittance inflows has been ignored by traditional credit algorithms,” Eddie Ndichu told TechCabal on the sidelines of the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi. “This scorecard gives lenders the data rails to safely extend credit to families supported by the diaspora. We’re not just moving money; we’re building a foundation for wealth creation.”

Kenya’s FX earner

While remittances are one of Kenya’s top foreign exchange sources, surpassing $5 billion (KES 649 billion) in 2025 for the first time, the funds are mostly excluded from income assessments used in credit scoring. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), around 80% of inflows currently go toward immediate consumption—including food, rent, healthcare, and school fees—with only about 20% directed into savings or investment.

If widely adopted, the model could pull millions of households into Kenya’s formal credit market, transforming remittances from a safety net into an asset-building tool.

Ndichu said the tool converts transaction histories, including payment frequency, size, and long-term stability, into a credit rating that can be embedded in banks’ loan systems. The company reckons this could enable remittance-dependent borrowers to qualify for personal loans, small business credit, and asset financing for the first time. The push comes as Kenyan banks grapple with high default risks, where income volatility and informal employment make credit assessment difficult. By contrast, remittance recipients receive steady monthly support that has historically gone unrecognised by most financial institutions.