The Payments Barrier: Financial Inclusion in a Fragmented System

Welcome to Voices of Resilience Season 3, brought to you by Na'amal, a non-profit and social enterprise dedicated to empowering forcibly displaced individuals through dignified remote work. In this episode, we delve into the exciting and sometimes challenging landscape of AI and Africa's digital future.

Co-hosted by Clay Lowe and Lorraine Charles, this conversation features Nick Murphy, CEO and Co-Founder of Kutana Pay, a fintech company reimagining payments across Africa and other emerging markets. Nick shares how his decade of experience helping UK and EU companies expand into Africa revealed a massive problem, slow, expensive, and inaccessible payments, and why removing that friction is essential for unlocking economic opportunity.

About Our Guest:
Nick Murphy leads strategy, growth, and mission at Kutana Pay, which is working to build a world where financial borders no longer hold people or businesses back. Kutana Pay’s platform enables companies in the Global North to send payments into emerging markets, while giving African SMEs and individuals access to global currencies in a secure, cost-effective, and compliant way.

About Kutana Pay:
With a focus on robust compliance, smart treasury systems, and financial inclusion, Kutana Pay addresses the two-way challenge of moving money into and out of African markets. Their mission is rooted in creating payment infrastructure that supports trade, digital work, and the participation of marginalized communities in the global economy.

Episode Highlights

The Payments Barrier and Why It Matters

• How slow, expensive cross-border systems, built for the West, exclude much of Africa from global markets
• Why access to USD and other major currencies is critical for importing goods, paying workers, and enabling digital work
• The two waves of African fintech: sending money in (diaspora remittances) vs. sending money out (trade and services)

The Role of Compliance and Documentation

• How KYC (Know Your Customer) rules can exclude refugees and people without formal IDs
• Balancing compliance with access, Kutana Pay’s approach to saying “yes” first and solving documentation hurdles creatively
• The human impact of being shut out from financial systems, particularly for displaced individuals earning digitally

Kutana Pay’s Model and Innovations

• What onboarding, verification, and secure transfers look like in practice
• Building trust through infrastructure and partnerships with NGOs, employers, and payment processors
• Stories that show the tangible impact of inclusive payment systems

Systemic Solutions for Financial Inclusion

• Policy and regulatory changes that could open up access for millions
• The role of private sector innovation vs. government-led reform
• What an inclusive, human-centered payments ecosystem could look like, and how to avoid replicating old patterns of exclusion

Discussion Topics:

• Why cross-border payments are critical for enabling digital work in Africa
• Financial barriers faced by refugees and marginalized people
• Trust, infrastructure, and systemic reform in Africa’s financial landscape
• Designing inclusive systems that work for everyone, everywhere

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