MFS Africa Taps ThetaRay to Prevent Financial Crimes

Digital payments network MFS Africa has partnered with artificial intelligence (AI) based transaction monitoring technology provider ThetaRay to safeguard its services from financial crimes.

As part of the alliance, MFS Africa will use ThetaRay’s SONAR SaaS solution, which includes AI-driven AML transaction monitoring and sanctions list screening.

This is said to help MFS Africa catch up with complicated and new financial crime typologies and intensify its growth prospects.

Currently, MFS Africa’s digital payments network links more than 400 million mobile money wallets as well as more than 200 million bank accounts and over 150,000 agents.

This connected network facilitates cross-platform and international payments for remittance firms, mobile network operators, banks, non-bank financial institutions and merchants across the globe.

MFS Africa managing director Patrick Gutmann said: “As MFS Africa continues to expand its business across Africa and focuses on enabling new use-cases, ThetaRay’s advanced platform assures the company an efficient and effective solution that can support our increasing payment volumes, while reducing exposure to risk from financial crimes.”

Last year, MFS Africa bought Nigerian super-agency network Baxi, and American fintech GTP that processes prepaid cards across Africa.

In June this year, the company raised $100m in an extended Series C round to speed up its expansion throughout the continent.

ThetaRay CEO Mark Gazit said: “ThetaRay’s advanced AI enables the trust needed by new financial players to be accepted into the system, helping grow business and revenues.”