YC-backed Waza launches Lync, an alternative to Mercury for African startups after $8m raise

Waza, a YCombinator-backed B2B payments company, has launched Lync, a banking product designed to help businesses manage multi-currency accounts and make international payments. This move comes after Mercury, a San Francisco-based fintech, restricted accounts for startups in 13 African countries in July 2024 following internal compliance changes. The shift has sparked demand for alternatives, and Waza is positioning itself as a key player in this market alongside other companies like Raenest, Leatherback, and Vesti.

Lync enables businesses to receive money and make payments in over 100 countries, supporting multiple currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, NGN, and stablecoins. Unlike competitors that rely on wallet-based systems (where transactions are processed under the company’s name rather than the customer’s), Lync offers full banking access. This makes it easier for businesses to reconcile payments, as funds are processed under their accounts.

Waza co-founder and CEO Maxwell Obi, highlighted that Lync’s comprehensive banking capabilities—such as ACH, Fedwire, SWIFT, and local payment rails like the UK’s Faster Payments—allow companies with global operations to handle payments and foreign exchange liquidity from a single platform. Additionally, the company plans to offer trade financing services within the app, including pre-shipment financing and invoice financing, which are essential for businesses engaged in international trade.

Lync is Waza’s second product after and comes on the back of Waza’s $8 million raise in 2024, funding it says will support market expansion and new product development.

One of Lync’s major selling points is its affordable transaction fees. According to Obi, Waza’s years of experience in the fintech space have allowed the company to secure competitive FX rates for its customers. Unlike many competitors, Waza has more control over its payment infrastructure, allowing it to offer lower transaction costs and faster settlement speeds.

Our value proposition has always been about affordability and the speed of settlement, Obi said in a recent interview with TechCrunch. He added, “By maintaining more control over our infrastructure, we can provide cheaper and faster solutions than the competition.”

The new web app allows businesses to make payments in over 100 countries with multi-currency accounts in dollars, euros, Pounds, Naira, and stablecoins. Obi claims the accounts offer full banking features, including ACH, Fedwire, SWIFT, and local rails like the UK’s Faster Payments, enabling companies with global operations to manage payments and FX liquidity from a single platform.