NALA
NALA is a London-headquartered, Tanzania-founded fintech that operates a stablecoin-powered cross-border payments platform, serving African and Asian diaspora consumers via a mobile remittance app and enterprises via its Rafiki B2B API.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What NALA does
NALA is a Tanzania-founded, London-headquartered fintech company that operates a mobile-first cross-border payments platform serving African and Asian diaspora consumers and the businesses that serve them. Its core product is the NALA consumer mobile application, which enables individuals to send remittances and operate a multi-currency account supporting USD, EUR, GBP, KES, RWF, UGX, TZS, and USDC stablecoin across more than 35 countries, with 98% of transfers reportedly arriving within 10 minutes. Underlying the app is a stablecoin-powered settlement infrastructure built on USDC that bypasses traditional correspondent banking rails to deliver near-instant, 24/7, lower-cost international transfers.
NALA's enterprise offering, Rafiki, is a B2B API platform that provides global payout, collection, and settlement infrastructure to fintechs and financial institutions including TransferGo, dLocal, MoneyGram, Cadana, and Mama Money, with the B2B division reportedly generating 80% gross margins versus 64% in the consumer business. The company holds 17 regulatory approvals across jurisdictions, is registered with the FCA in the UK (via Modulr FS Limited) and the DNB in the Netherlands (via Modulr Finance B.V.), and holds US state money transmitter licenses (NMLS: 2530895). NALA monetizes via transaction fees and FX margins on consumer transfers and usage-based pricing on the Rafiki API, distributed through a product-led growth motion on the consumer side and direct enterprise sales plus strategic distribution partnerships (MoneyGram, Noah, BigPay Ghana) on the B2B side. The company is Y Combinator-backed, has raised a $50 million credit facility from Mars Growth Capital (Liquidity and MUFG-backed), and was recognized on the Forbes Fintech 50 2026 list.
NALA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NALA
- Legal name
- NALA Inc.
- Website
- https://iwantnala.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- NALA is a London-headquartered, Tanzania-founded fintech that operates a stablecoin-powered cross-border payments platform, serving African and Asian diaspora consumers via a mobile remittance app and enterprises via its Rafiki B2B API.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NALA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-border payments and remittance
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Multi-Currency Accounts, Wallets & IBAN Services (FSAMAIAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cross-Border & FX Payments Platforms (BPAMAFAK), Crypto-Enabled Cross-Border Transfers & On/Off-Ramps (FSAGAKAO), Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL)
Keywords
Where NALA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices6 records
Markets served
NALA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Consumer Money Transfers: Transaction fees and FX margins earned on cross-border money transfers from consumers sending remittances to Africa and Asia. Consumers can send up to $5,000 daily with fees varying by corridor and payment method.
- Rafiki B2B API Services: B2B platform Rafiki provides API-based payment infrastructure to enterprise clients including TransferGo, dLocal, MoneyGram, Cadana, and Mama Money, generating revenue through API usage fees and transaction processing. B2B division achieves 80% gross profit margins.
- Stablecoin Infrastructure Services: Revenue generated from stablecoin-powered settlement services enabling near-instant USD collection and local currency payout for institutional partners, leveraging blockchain technology to reduce settlement costs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Consumer Transfers - Daily limit up to $5,000 |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Business/Customized Limits |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Rafiki API Enterprise |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
NALA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NALA operates a global multi-currency payments platform with two main product lines: (1) a consumer mobile app (NALA) that enables individuals to send international money transfers to mobile money wallets and bank accounts across 35+ countries in Africa and Asia, with 98% of transfers arriving within 10 minutes, and (2) Rafiki, a B2B API platform providing cross-border payouts, collections, and stablecoin settlement infrastructure to fintechs and financial institutions including TransferGo, dLocal, MoneyGram, Cadana, and Mama Money. The platform is powered by USDC stablecoin reserves and multi-rail settlement integrating blockchain networks with traditional financial rails.
Product overview
NALA is a Tanzania-founded fintech company operating as a multi-product payments platform. The core offering is the NALA consumer mobile app for international money transfers, which works alongside the Rafiki API for enterprise clients and B2B payment solutions. The platform supports multi-currency accounts (USD, EUR, GBP, and African/Asian currencies including USDC stablecoin), real-time transfers to 35+ countries, and peer-to-peer payments through NALA Friends. The company generates revenue through both consumer transfers (64% gross profit margin) and B2B services via Rafiki (80% gross profit margin).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Rafiki: B2B platform providing one API for global payouts and collections, enabling instant money movement across US, UK, Europe, Asia and Africa with payout, collect, and settle capabilities in local currency or stablecoins.
Products and services
- NALA Consumer App International money transfer mobile application enabling individuals to send and receive money globally with multi-currency accounts, real-time transfers to mobile money wallets and bank accounts across 35+ countries in Africa and Asia, with 98% of transfers arriving within 10 minutes.
- Rafiki API Enterprise-grade API platform enabling businesses to integrate global payout and collection capabilities. Rafiki allows companies to move money instantly across the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Africa, supporting both local currency and stablecoin settlement through a single API integration. The B2B division achieves 80% gross profit margins.
- USD Accounts (Multi-Currency Account) Multi-currency account feature allowing users to receive, hold, convert and send money in multiple currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, KES, RWF, UGX, TZS, and USDC stablecoin, supporting storage and management of different currencies in a single global account.
- NALA Friends Peer-to-peer payment feature enabling users to split bills, pay for gifts, or share holiday expenses with friends in the UK, US or EU through fast, friction-free money transfers via the NALA app.
Quantifiable outcome
- 98% of transfers arrive within 10 minutes
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use NALA
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
NALA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
NALA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- MoneyGramflagshipMoneyGram and NALA announced a strategic partnership to enable stablecoin-based settlement and modernized cross-border payout services across emerging markets in Africa and Asia. The collaboration introduces a real-time settlement model using digital dollars, with recipients continuing to receive funds in their local currencies, aiming to improve speed, affordability, and reliability in high-demand remittance corridors.
- NoahcoreNoah, a global payments infrastructure provider, partnered with NALA to launch a cross-border settlement network using stablecoins to enable faster, cheaper, and compliant international money transfers. The network enables near-instant USD collection and local currency payout, operating 24/7, directly addressing settlement delays of 3-5 business days and average fees close to 9% that plague traditional correspondent banking systems.
- BigPay Ghana LimitedcoreNALA partnered with BigPay Ghana Limited to improve payment and remittance services in Ghana, with approval from the Bank of Ghana. The collaboration aims to facilitate faster, secure, and more affordable remittances for Ghanaians abroad, leveraging advanced infrastructure and regulatory compliance.
- TransferGocoreEnterprise client using NALA's Rafiki API for global payout infrastructure.
- dLocalcoreEnterprise client using NALA's Rafiki API for cross-border payment collections.
- CadanacoreEnterprise client using NALA's Rafiki API for global payroll and payout services.
- Mama MoneycoreEnterprise client using NALA's Rafiki API for cross-border money transfer infrastructure.
- Modulr FS Limited (UK)coreNALA Payments Ltd is a registered EMD agent of Modulr FS Limited, which is an Electronic Money Institution authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Modulr provides the underlying electronic money and payment services infrastructure.
- Modulr Finance B.V. (EU)coreNALA Payments Netherlands B.V. is a partner of Modulr Finance B.V., authorized and regulated by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as an Electronic Money Institution for issuance of electronic money and payment services.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NALA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Circle: Issuer of USDC, the stablecoin underpinning NALA's settlement rails. Important adjacent player — Circle's enterprise payment APIs and expanding cross-border network overlap with Rafiki, and Circle's regulatory positioning shapes NALA's cost structure.
- Flutterwave: Nigerian-headquartered Africa-focused payments infrastructure provider. Comparable in geographic focus and developer-first API approach, with overlapping enterprise customers needing multi-country African collection and payout capabilities.
Direct peers
- TerraPay: Amsterdam-headquartered B2B cross-border payments network connecting banks, mobile wallets, and money operators globally. The closest direct competitor to NALA's Rafiki API for enterprise clients seeking payout infrastructure across emerging markets.
- Mama Money: South Africa-based remittance operator serving African corridors. Listed as a NALA Rafiki customer but also a direct competitor in the same South Africa-to-rest-of-Africa corridors and target diaspora segment.
- Sendwave: US-based app-focused remittance company (owned by Zepz, alongside WorldRemit) with deep penetration in African corridors. Competes directly in the same send and receive markets and uses similar mobile-money payout infrastructure.
- Remitly: Publicly listed US-based cross-border remittance app with strong presence in Africa and Asia corridors. Directly competes with NALA's consumer app for the same diaspora senders and recipient countries, with comparable mobile-first UX and transparent pricing.
- LemFi: Canada-based remittance startup focused on diaspora corridors into Africa and Asia. Closely comparable in mission, customer segment, and corridor mix, and competes head-to-head for North American and UK senders.
- Taptap Send: US-headquartered zero-fee remittance app targeting corridors into Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Direct peer competing on price transparency and mobile-money payouts, with similar product-led growth strategy and diaspora user base.
- WorldRemit: UK-based digital remittance company owned by Zepz with deep Africa corridor coverage. Directly competes for the same UK-to-Africa sender base and shares the mobile-wallet payout strategy that NALA uses to deliver instant transfers.
- Wise: Publicly listed UK-based multi-currency account and cross-border payments company. Directly competes with both NALA's consumer wallet and the Rafiki B2B infrastructure, with overlapping corridors into Africa and Asia and similar mid-market FX positioning.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NALA social profiles
Digital presenceNALA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NALA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
NALA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NALA M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NALA
What does NALA do?
NALA operates a global multi-currency payments platform with two main product lines: (1) a consumer mobile app (NALA) that enables individuals to send international money transfers to mobile money wallets and bank accounts across 35+ countries in Africa and Asia, with 98% of transfers arriving within 10 minutes, and (2) Rafiki, a B2B API platform providing cross-border payouts, collections, and stablecoin settlement infrastructure to fintechs and financial institutions including TransferGo, dLocal, MoneyGram, Cadana, and Mama Money. The platform is powered by USDC stablecoin reserves and multi-rail settlement integrating blockchain networks with traditional financial rails.
Is NALA a public or private company?
NALA is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was NALA founded?
NALA was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is NALA based?
NALA is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does NALA make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Consumer Money Transfers are the primary driver. The others are rafiki B2B API Services and stablecoin Infrastructure Services.
Who are NALA's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Circle and Flutterwave. Direct peers are TerraPay, Mama Money, Sendwave, Remitly, LemFi, Taptap Send, WorldRemit and Wise.
Does NALA have an API?
Yes. Rafiki is NALA's enterprise API for global payouts and collections. It enables businesses to move money instantly across the US, UK, Europe, Asia and Africa. The API supports payout, collection, and settlement in local currency or stablecoins through a single integration. Developer documentation is at www.rafiki.com.
What industry is NALA in?
NALA's product category is Cross-border payments and remittance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAIAG, Multi-Currency Accounts, Wallets & IBAN Services, with a secondary code of BPAMAFAK, Cross-Border & FX Payments Platforms. Its NAICS code is 52232 and its SIC code is 6199.