Xente

What Xente does

Xente Tech Limited is a Kampala-headquartered, privately-held fintech operating a B2B payments platform that enables African businesses to collect payments, disburse funds, manage treasury, and access Merchant of Record services across mobile money, bank, and card rails. The platform is built on a cloud-based, API-first architecture with a RESTful API, webhooks, SDKs, and a sandbox environment, and integrates directly with 20+ Ugandan banks (Stanbic, ABSA, Centenary, Standard Chartered, Equity, DFCU, KCB, Ecobank, UBA, NCBA, and others), both major mobile wallet operators (MTN Uganda, Airtel Uganda), and key billers (NWSC, UEDCL, URA, Safeboda). Xente holds Payment Systems Operator (PSO) and Issuer of Payment Instruments (Class A) licenses from the Central Bank of Uganda, making it one of the few fintechs in the region with legal authorization to issue physical and virtual payment cards, an ability it exercises through a co-branded Visa and Ecobank partnership.

The product portfolio is organized into four core modules — Collect Payments, Make Payments (Payouts), Treasury & Liquidity, and Merchant of Record — delivered through two product tiers: Xente Enterprise, targeting medium and large businesses with bulk disbursements, sub-accounts, role-based permissions, and Visa Business Card issuance; and Xente Lite, a mobile app for micro and small businesses that adds expense tracking, credit profile building, and loan access. Xente generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on collections (1-3.5% depending on tier and payment method) and payouts (tiered UGX fees on mobile money and bank transfers), supplemented by an annual platform subscription (UGX 2,000,000/year for Pro) and managed-services revenue from Treasury & Liquidity and Merchant of Record offerings. Go-to-market combines a self-serve product-led motion (free Basic tier, signup-to-first-transaction in under 10 minutes) with enterprise sales engagement and developer-led API adoption.

The company has processed over USD 1B in cumulative transaction value across 4,000+ business customers and reports 99.9% platform uptime. Strategic investors include Renew Capital (2023), Google for Startups (2022, $100K), The 97 Fund (2020), International Trade Centre (2021), and Leapfrog Ventures Japan (2018, $100K). The company is led by founder-CEO Allan Rwakatungu and COO Francis Nkurunungi, and operates with 11-50 employees primarily out of Uganda, with cross-border ambitions signaled under Renew Capital's pan-African investment thesis.

Name

Xente

Legal name

Xente Tech Limited

Website

https://xente.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Xente is a Uganda-based B2B fintech operating a licensed payments platform that lets African businesses collect funds, make payouts, manage treasury, and access Merchant of Record services across mobile money, bank, and card rails, serving 4,000+ companies under Bank of Uganda PSO and IPI licenses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Platform

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Cross-Border & Multi-Currency Gateway Services (FSAMACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cross-Border & FX Payments Platforms (BPAMAFAK), Cross-Border Payment Orchestration & Routing (FSAGAKAJ), Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) & Local Rails (ACH/SEPA/UPI, etc.) (CRAFALAG), Cross-border Payments, FX & Multi-currency Checkout (CRAFAJAF)

Keywords

• Payment processing platform
• Mobile money integration
• Corporate payment cards
• Cross-border payments
• Merchant of record

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees - Collections: Fees charged on payment collections from customers. Mobile money collections are charged at 3.5% (Basic) and 2.5% (Pro). Cash collections at 1% (Pro tier). This is a usage-based revenue stream where fees scale with transaction volume.
2. Transaction Fees - Payouts: Fees charged on outgoing payments to mobile money and bank accounts. Payout fees vary by amount: Mobile Money fees range from UGX 800-1,700 depending on tier and amount; Bank transfer fees range from UGX 2,680-12,000 depending on tier and amount.
3. Platform Subscription: Annual platform subscription fees for access to the Xente payment platform. Pro tier is priced at UGX 2,000,000 annually. Basic tier is free. Pro+ tier has custom pricing.
4. Treasury & Liquidity Services: Revenue generated from treasury and liquidity management services including preferential FX rates for prefunding accounts, cross-border payment facilitation, and liquidity support for high-volume businesses.
5. Merchant of Record Services: Fees for managed compliance, tax computation and remittance, and multi-currency settlement services for global merchants expanding across African markets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Xente is a unified digital payment platform that enables African businesses to accept customer payments via mobile money, cards, and bank transfers; disburse payouts to suppliers, staff, and billers; access treasury and liquidity services with competitive FX and cross-border facilitation; and operate as a Merchant of Record with managed tax compliance and multi-currency settlement.

Product overview

Xente is a unified payment platform providing comprehensive digital payment solutions for businesses across Africa. The product portfolio consists of the core Xente Platform serving as the foundation, with Xente Enterprise (for medium and large businesses) and Xente Lite (for micro and small businesses) as the two primary product tiers. The platform offers four core modules: Collect Payments (accepting mobile money, cards, bank transfers, and cash), Make Payments/Payouts (disbursements to mobile money, banks, bills, and airtime), Treasury & Liquidity (FX management and funding facilities), and Merchant of Record (compliance and settlement for global merchants). Together these components provide businesses with end-to-end payment infrastructure for collecting from customers, paying suppliers and teams, managing currency exposure, and expanding globally with regulatory compliance handled.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Xente Enterprise: Complete payment platform for medium and large businesses with digital payouts, payment collection, expense management, and Visa card issuance capabilities.
• Xente Lite

Products and services

• Xente Platform Unified digital payment platform for African businesses enabling payment collection via mobile money, cards, and bank transfers; payouts to suppliers, staff, and billers; treasury and liquidity services; and Merchant of Record managed compliance and settlement across African markets.
• Xente Enterprise Complete payment platform for medium and large enterprises, offering digital payouts via mobile money, bank transfers, and Visa cards; multi-option customer payment collection; bulk payments; sub-accounts; team and user management with role-based permissions; advanced approval workflows; and real-time reporting. Used by 700+ modern companies.
• Xente Lite Lightweight mobile app for micro and small businesses providing payment collection, expense tracking, investment options, credit profile building, and access to affordable financing through a mobile-first interface. Used by 10K+ active users.
• Xente Visa Business Cards Physical and virtual Visa Business Cards for African businesses, enabling Ugandan companies to pay global vendors such as AWS, Google, and Facebook and to manage petty cash and travel expenses in real time. Issued through Visa and Ecobank partnership infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• USD 1B+ transaction value processed
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration27 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• VisaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Xente partnered with Visa to launch physical and virtual Visa Business Cards for African businesses. These cards allow Ugandan companies to pay global vendors (like AWS, Google, Facebook) and manage petty cash or travel expenses in real-time. This was a pivotal moment for Ugandan SMEs needing to pay global vendors.
• EcobankflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Xente partnered with Visa and Ecobank to launch physical and virtual Visa Business Cards. Ecobank serves as the banking partner enabling card issuance and settlement infrastructure.
• VertocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023Xente partnered with Verto to streamline cross-border foreign exchange and payments for the NGO sector in Uganda. The partnership enables NGOs and organizations to send and receive international funds more transparently with favorable exchange rates and reduced friction.
• Partner Bank (Treasury)coreTechnology or IntegrationTreasury and liquidity solutions facilitated by a partner bank, providing competitive FX rates, liquidity facilities, and cross-border payment facilitation.
• MTN UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile wallet integration supporting MTN Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Airtel UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationMobile wallet integration supporting Airtel Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Stanbic Bank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting Stanbic Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• ABSA Bank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting ABSA Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Centenary BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting Centenary Bank payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Standard Chartered Bank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting Standard Chartered Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Equity Bank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting Equity Bank Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• DFCU BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting DFCU Bank payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• KCB Bank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting KCB Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Ecobank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting Ecobank Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• United Bank for Africa (UBA)coreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting UBA payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• NCBA Bank UgandacoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting NCBA Uganda payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Housing Finance BankcoreTechnology or IntegrationBank integration supporting Housing Finance Bank payments for collections and payouts on the Xente platform.
• Raw Financial LimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner company that may offer products and services to Xente customers as mentioned in the privacy policy.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Flutterwave: Pan-African payment gateway offering collections, payouts, and cross-border APIs across multiple African countries. Closest direct competitor to Xente's API-first, multi-rail payment platform with global enterprise ambition.
• Paystack: Stripe-owned African payment gateway providing APIs for accepting payments and issuing virtual accounts. Competes directly with Xente in API-first payment infrastructure for African businesses and global merchants.
• Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform providing payment collections, disbursements, and banking integrations across 35+ countries. Directly comparable to Xente's unified collections, payouts, and bill-payment rail model.
• Pesapal: East African payment gateway serving businesses in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and beyond with card, mobile money, and bank payment acceptance. Closest regional peer competing for the same Uganda and East Africa enterprise and SMB segments.

Broad incumbents

• Interswitch: Largest established African digital payments and commerce company operating payments processing, card issuing, and switching infrastructure. Overlaps with Xente's PSO-equivalent and card issuance capabilities at significantly larger scale.
• Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa): Largest pan-African mobile money and cross-border payments network connecting 500+ mobile wallets and banks. Provides the underlying rails Xente integrates and competes indirectly in cross-border payment orchestration.
• DPO Group (Network International): Africa-focused payment service provider within Network International offering merchant acquiring, payment gateway, and online processing across multiple African markets. Broader incumbent peer competing for global merchants expanding into Africa.

Emerging players

• Fincra: Africa-focused payment infrastructure provider offering collections, payouts, virtual accounts, and FX. Overlaps with Xente's cross-border, treasury, and merchant-of-record capabilities and is also a documented Xente customer.
• Chipper Cash: African cross-border payments app expanding into merchant and business payment services. Compares to Xente on cross-border and mobile-money-first payment flows for African consumers and businesses.
• Verto: Cross-border B2B payments and FX platform and a documented Xente partner. Comparable to Xente's Treasury & Liquidity and cross-border offering for businesses and NGOs operating across borders.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/xente_app
• Facebookfacebook.com/xenteapp

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors5 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 Xente