As technology reshapes industries across the globe, AI fintechs in Africa are undergoing its own transformation, driven by tools that prioritise access, simplicity, and local relevance.
From Kenya’s mobile-first microfinance networks to Nigeria’s chatbot-powered banking assistants, African fintech innovators are fusing AI, chat platforms, and voice technology to solve real problems.
With WhatsApp and USSD still dominating digital interactions across the continent, these startups are building financial tools that feel conversational and human.
Below, Techparley curates a list of some of the top 10 chat-based AI fintechs in Africa in 2025.
1. Mono
Mono leads the charge of AI fintechs in Africa, with powerful APIs that allow startups to securely access financial data, facilitate payments, and build consumer fintech apps. In 2024, it launched Owo, a WhatsApp-based AI payment bot that enables users to make simple bank transfers using natural language.
While Owo targets developers and fintechs for white-labelling, its growing consumer use proves Mono’s influence in shaping embedded finance across Nigeria. Mono shows a bold pivot into accessibility, making financial infrastructure feel more intuitive.
2. Xara
Xara is a rising star in conversational banking. Xara’s AI-powered assistant lives entirely on WhatsApp, letting people send money, pay bills, and analyse spending using everyday chat, Pidgin English, or voice. It offers robust local language understanding, PIN-secured payments, and biometric chat locks.
More than just a payment tool, Xara acts as a personalised financial assistant, especially for users sidelined by complex banking apps. With support for Pidgin and upcoming Hausa/Yoruba integration, Xara may prove that in Africa’s fintech future, chat is the new interface and trust is the new infrastructure.
3. Periculum
Periculum is an AI-driven fintech company that uses machine learning and data analytics to generate actionable insights for financial institutions. The platform helps lenders make smarter credit decisions by assessing risk through alternative data sources, rather than relying solely on traditional credit scores.
A participant in the first cohort of the timbuktoo Fintech Accelerator Programme supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Periculum is empowering banks in Nigeria and fintechs to extend credit to underserved individuals and small businesses.
4. Tingg by Cellulant
Tingg is Cellulant’s pan-African payments platform, enabling cross-border transfers, merchant payments, airtime top-ups, and bill settlement in over 35 African countries. While it started as a mobile payments gateway, Tingg is evolving into a smart automation tool, incorporating machine learning to manage fraud detection and transaction routing.
It doesn’t yet operate fully via WhatsApp, but Tingg’s roadmap includes AI-driven chatbots to support its agent network and SME customer base. Its multi-lingual reach and continent-wide infrastructure make it one of the most scalable digital financial tools in East and Southern Africa.
5. Jumo
Jumo uses machine learning and predictive analytics to provide instant credit to underbanked individuals via telco partnerships. Its credit models run on behavioural data gathered from call logs, airtime use, and mobile money transactions, giving borrowers instant access to working capital.
Its integrations with MTN, and Airtel Money allow users to request and repay loans using chat or USSD. Jumo has disbursed over $4 billion in loans, proving that AI-powered financial inclusion isn’t just possible, it’s scalable.
6. Asilimia
Built for Kenya’s informal economy, Asilimia blends AI and mobile payments to help micro-traders track finances and access digital loans. The app features an offline-first interface and a chatbot that can summarise cash flow, flag irregular expenses, and recommend savings goals.
Its financial assistant makes it one of the leading AI fintechs in Africa, and makes it feel less like a bank and more like a daily accountability partner, particularly for women-led businesses and youth entrepreneurs in low-income areas.
7. FinChatBot
FinChatBot designs conversational AI interfaces for banks, insurers, and lenders. Its bots guide users through loan applications, insurance quotes, and customer support, replacing clunky websites and long call centre queues.
FinChatBot powers financial interactions for companies like Sanlam, Standard Bank, and Hollard. Its natural language processing is trained specifically for South African idioms and regional dialects, making it especially effective in high-volume customer service environments.
8. Tanda
Tanda is a digital financial agent network offering services like bill payments, mobile top-ups, and float management for micro-merchants. It acts as a bridge between rural shops and banks, with an AI backend helping agents manage inventory and credit.
As Kenya’s agent banking ecosystem matures, Tanda’s conversational interface and low-data approach are helping more kiosks and informal retailers offer basic banking to walk-in customers. Since its launch in 2018, Tanda has improved interactions between customers and businesses and opened up the ecosystem so that other developers can add new products.
9. Bankly
Bankly is a Nigerian financial technology company that provides banking and payment services to individuals and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Bankly has since expanded to offer a range of services, including personal and business banking, agency banking, and API solutions.
Bankly digitises Nigeria’s informal cash economy through a network of agents equipped with AI-enhanced tools for onboarding and savings. Its agent dashboard includes fraud detection algorithms, customer insights, and biometric ID capture.
10. Pezesha
Pezesha provides AI-based credit scoring, loan origination, and disbursement tools to e-commerce platforms, banks, and fintechs. Pezesha’s smart bot interface enables users to check eligibility, apply for credit, and manage repayments, often without leaving their browser or messaging app.
Pezesha connects small and medium sized businesses to working capital through a collaborative approach where banks, MFIs and other financial institutions or networks can connect. It has partnered with platforms like Jumia and Twiga to bring embedded finance to small vendors and suppliers, enabling more inclusive supply chains powered by algorithmic trust.
FAQs – AI Fintechs in Africa
What is chat-based fintech and how does it differ from traditional banking apps?
Chat-based fintech allows users to perform financial transactions, like sending money, checking balances, or paying bills, through messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, or SMS.
Why are AI fintechs in Africa important?
AI is powering automation, fraud detection, credit scoring, and personalised financial services in the fintech sector. It also enables services like voice commands, spending analysis, and multilingual support.
Are chat-based fintech platforms secure?
Yes, many platforms operate with multiple layers of security, including end-to-end encryption, PIN verification, biometric authentication, and device-level chat locks.
What types of services can users access via AI and chat-based fintech tools?
Common services include peer-to-peer money transfers, bill payments, savings plans, credit access, spending analysis, airtime top-up, and even customer support, all initiated via conversational commands in chat.
What challenges do AI fintechs in Africa face?
AI fintechs in Africa face major challenges including poor digital literacy, language barriers, regulatory ambiguity, data privacy concerns, and inconsistent internet connectivity in rural areas.
