Bonto Kenya, a Nairobi-based remittance fintech, is shutting down two years after launching, and less than eight months after securing a licence from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
Bonto founder and CEO Yoann Copreaux announced on Monday that the company, which specialised in remittances and foreign exchange services, stopped processing transactions on August 15 and later asked the CBK to revoke its licence. The regulator confirmed the revocation last week.
“It is notified for the information of the general public that pursuant to Regulation 44 (2) of the money remittance regulations 2013, the Central Bank of Kenya has revoked the license of Bonto Kenya Money Transfer Limited,” CBK governor Kamau Thugge wrote in a notice.
Bonto’s exit reveals the uneasy reality facing fintechs in Kenya, where regulatory approval no longer guarantees a path to survival. In a market where foreign exchange spreads have narrowed, remittance fees are being driven to zero, and compliance costs keep climbing, only established players with deep client relationships can withstand the squeeze. For Bonto, the timing proved wrong.
In a candid note on LinkedIn, Copreaux said the shutdown was due to collapsing FX margins, thin remittance fees, and rising compliance costs that made it impossible to scale profitably. Unlike older money remittance providers (MRPs) that can lean on legacy clients, Bonto was “trying to build in the desert.”
“FX margins collapsed, breakeven scale became unrealistic,” Copreaux said.
Bonto considered selling its licence, reaching out to more than 50 fintechs and securing five offers. But none proved viable once CBK approval timelines and ongoing monthly losses were factored in.
“It was emotionally tough, but closing was the only rational decision by a wide margin,” Yoann wrote.
The team behind Bonto will now wind down operations fully, with Copreaux hinting at a reset before pursuing new ventures.
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