Kippa, a Nigerian fintech startup, has announced that it is discontinuing its offline payment product, KippaPay. The company is also laying off the core team responsible for the product.
Founder and CEO of Kippa, Kennedy Ekezie, expressed the difficulty of this decision, acknowledging the remarkable efforts of the team that had supported KippaPay. Ekezie indicated that the discontinuation is prompted by the need to optimize the product lineup.
“Today, we announce that we’re pulling back our offline payments product, KippaPay from the market. Over the past 18 months, we launched and grew this arm of our product suite to support merchants with offline payments and agency banking through our POS terminals. This company decision is related to profitable product portfolio consolidation. This decision unfortunately means that the core of our team supporting the KippaPay product will be leaving us in December 2023,” Ekezie said.
The move, slated for November 15, 2023, aims to streamline the company’s product portfolio for profitability. KippaPay allowed users to send and receive payments and conduct extended payment transactions.
“Starting November 15th, our KippaPay product will no longer be available for use by merchants. In the weeks leading up to this, we will provide support for our merchants and partners helping them transition off the product and resolve any pending settlements,” Ekezie added.
This move reflects the broader challenges facing fintech companies, especially in Nigeria, where currency devaluation in June 2023 has heightened operating costs for businesses relying on imports. Kippa, whose point-of-sale machines are sourced abroad, has been affected by rising operational costs, extending its break-even period.
Read also: Mumbai-Based Done Deal Raises $800K In Pre-Seed Funding
As part of the shutdown, the company has pledged to resolve pending settlements for its merchants, demonstrating its commitment to a smooth transition for its users.
Kippa offers financial management solutions tailored to small and medium-sized businesses, assisting with bookkeeping, income and expense tracking, and debt reminders. KippaPay, launched in 2022, allowed customers to provide invoices and make payments. Despite the discontinuation of KippaPay, Kippa will continue its mission to support SMEs with financial products.