Centbee

What Centbee does

Centbee was a London-headquartered digital payments company with operations in South Africa, building on Bitcoin SV blockchain infrastructure to enable low-cost digital money transfers. Founded circa 2017-2019 with initial backing from Ayre Ventures, the company developed a consumer mobile wallet as its core product, supporting Bitcoin transfers and cross-border remittances. Key product features included ChatPay, an in-wallet chat interface for peer-to-peer money transfers, and Minit Money, a cross-border remittance service targeting the Africa corridor that processed over 35,000 transactions during its operational life. The platform also incorporated decentralized finance (DeFi) product access within the wallet.

Centbee operated a direct-to-consumer, product-led go-to-market, distributing its mobile wallet via self-serve app download and monetizing through transaction fees on remittances and wallet services. Its customer base comprised individual remittance senders targeting African recipients, with operations spanning Europe (London HQ) and Africa (South Africa regional operations). Total disclosed funding across four rounds (2018-2022) was approximately $3.3 million, primarily from Ayre Ventures (Calvin Ayre) and Two Hop Ventures. Leadership included co-CEOs Angus Brown and Lorien Gamaroff.

According to a 2026 source, Centbee exited the market earlier that year, with founder Lorien Gamaroff launching successor venture Goji Wallet. The company's failure to secure scale-up capital beyond its December 2022 pre-Series A round, combined with modest transaction volume and the broader contraction of the Bitcoin SV ecosystem, contributed to its market exit. The company is no longer operational as of 2026.

Name

Centbee

Legal name

Centbee

Website

https://centbee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centbee was a London-headquartered Bitcoin SV-based digital payments company offering a consumer mobile wallet with ChatPay peer-to-peer transfers and Minit Money cross-border remittances into Africa, processing over 35,000 transactions before exiting the market in 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Payments / Blockchain Wallet

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Crypto Remittance & Cross-Border Money Transfer Providers (FSADAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL), Cross-Border Payments & FX (multi-currency wallets, DCC, remittance) (THALAHAE), Payments, Remittances & Merchant Acceptance (checkout, invoicing, payroll) (FSAPAEAE)

Keywords

• Digital payments platform
• Blockchain wallet
• Cross-border remittances
• Bitcoin transfers
• Peer-to-peer payments

Headquarters

HQ city

Gauteng

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Cross-border Remittance Services: Fees charged on cross-border money transfers through the Minit Money service, processing over 35,000 transactions into Africa
2. Digital Wallet Services: Digital cash wallet services supporting Bitcoin transfers with potential revenue from transaction fees and DeFi product integration

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Centbee operates a digital cash wallet built on the Bitcoin SV blockchain that enables users to store, send, and receive Bitcoin. The platform supports peer-to-peer in-wallet money transfers via its ChatPay chat interface and offers cross-border remittance services to Africa through its Minit Money service, which has processed over 35,000 remittances. It also provides access to decentralized finance products within the wallet.

Product overview

Centbee is a digital money payments facilitator operating on the Bitcoin SV blockchain. The company offers a digital cash wallet as its core product, which supports Bitcoin transfers and cross-border remittances. Key features include ChatPay for simplified in-wallet money transfers via chat, and Minit Money for cross-border remittances into Africa. The platform also includes in-wallet chat functionality and decentralized finance products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ChatPay: Key feature that simplifies in-wallet money transfer
• Minit Money

Products and services

• Digital Cash Wallet
• ChatPay
• Minit Money

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Binance: Binance is the largest global crypto exchange and offers a wallet and P2P transfer services with significant Africa user base. It is comparable as an incumbent competing for the same Bitcoin transfer and remittance use cases Centbee targets, with vastly greater scale and liquidity.
• Luno: Luno is a large, established crypto exchange and wallet platform with strong presence in South Africa and other African markets. It competes with Centbee for the same African consumer crypto wallet and remittance demand, but with a much broader product portfolio and brand footprint.
• Paystack: Paystack is a leading African online payments and remittance infrastructure provider. While not crypto-native, it competes for the same African consumer payment and remittance flows that Centbee targets via Minit Money.

Direct peers

• Bitnob: Bitnob is a Bitcoin-native payments and remittance platform targeting Africa, offering cross-border transfers and a wallet. It is directly comparable to Centbee's Minit Money + Digital Cash Wallet combination and competes in the same Africa-inbound remittance corridor.
• Paxful: Paxful is a P2P Bitcoin marketplace with deep traction in Africa, enabling users to buy, sell, and remit via Bitcoin. It is comparable to Centbee's digital cash wallet and ChatPay flow in terms of underlying Bitcoin P2P transfer mechanics.
• Remitano: Remitano is a P2P crypto exchange with active African markets, supporting Bitcoin transfers and remittances. It overlaps directly with Centbee's peer-to-peer Bitcoin transfer and remittance offering.
• Chipper Cash: Chipper Cash is a mobile-first cross-border payments app for Africa and other emerging markets, supporting P2P transfers and remittances. It competes with Centbee for the same Africa remittance sender/recipient user base, though it is broader in scope and not crypto-native.
• Yellow Card: Yellow Card is a crypto payments and remittance platform operating across multiple African countries, enabling stablecoin and Bitcoin transfers. It overlaps directly with Centbee's wallet and cross-border remittance offering and serves similar consumer and merchant use cases in Africa.
• Strike: Strike is a Bitcoin payments app enabling instant, low-cost transfers and remittances via the Lightning Network. It is a direct analog to Centbee's chat-style, in-app Bitcoin transfer experience, although Strike's chain choice and geographic focus differ.

Regional players

• VALR: VALR is a South African crypto exchange and wallet provider serving the same regional market where Centbee operates. It is comparable as a domestic competitor for crypto on/off-ramps and wallet-based transfers in South Africa.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/centbeewallet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Centbee