Waza, a YCombinator-backed B2B payments company, has introduced Lync, a new banking product designed to help businesses manage multi-currency accounts and facilitate international payments. This launch follows a significant market shift in July 2024, when Mercury, a San Francisco-based fintech company, restricted accounts for startups in 13 African countries due to internal compliance changes. This restriction has created a demand for alternative solutions, positioning Waza as a key player in the market alongside other companies like Raenest, Leatherback, and Vesti.
Lync enables businesses to receive funds and make payments in over 100 countries, supporting multiple currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP, NGN, and stablecoins. Unlike competitors that use wallet-based systems—where transactions are processed under the company’s name rather than the customer’s—Lync offers full banking access. This feature simplifies payment reconciliation for businesses, as funds are processed directly under their accounts.
Maxwell Obi, co-founder and CEO of Waza, emphasized that Lync’s comprehensive banking capabilities—including 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, Waza plans to offer trade financing services within the app, such as pre-shipment financing and invoice financing, which are crucial for businesses engaged in international trade.
Lync is Waza’s second product, following the company’s successful $8 million raise in 2024. This funding is intended to support market expansion and the development of new products. One of Lync’s major selling points is its affordable transaction fees. According to Obi, Waza’s extensive experience in the fintech space has enabled the company to secure competitive foreign exchange rates for its customers. Unlike many competitors, Waza maintains greater 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. By maintaining more control over our infrastructure, we can provide cheaper and faster solutions than the competition.
Maxwell Obi, co-founder and CEO of Waza
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 that these 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 foreign exchange liquidity from a single platform. The startup will also offer trade financing services on the Lync app, such as pre-shipment and invoice financing.