Cardtonic enters Kenya with dual-currency wallets

Nigerian fintech Cardtonic has just launched in Kenya, and it is bringing something many Kenyans have asked for: a USD wallet and a KES wallet inside one app, with M-Pesa link.

If you are new to this, think of Cardtonic as a money app that started in Nigeria in 2019 for gift card trading. Now it is in four markets: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The Kenya launch happened late October 2026 and was reported by The Star Kenya and The Standard as "From Lagos to Nairobi: Cardtonic brings dollar wallets to Kenya".

What Cardtonic launched

On day one in Kenya, here is what you get:

1. Dual wallets automatically: When you sign up, you get a KES wallet for shillings and a USD wallet for dollars. You can hold up to 5 wallets in total: KES, USD, NGN, GHS, ZAR. So one account, five possible currencies.

1. Sell gift cards and choose payout: Have unused Amazon, Apple, Steam, Google Play gift cards? You can sell them on Cardtonic and choose to be paid in your KES wallet or USD wallet.

1. Virtual dollar card: You can create a virtual dollar card from your USD balance. Use it for online shopping, Netflix, ads, App Store. You fund the card directly from USD wallet and any leftover can be moved back.

1. M-Pesa withdrawal: You can withdraw from your KES wallet straight to your M-Pesa. Important: Top-up via M-Pesa is not yet available. For now, withdrawal is one-way. You fund by selling gift card or by depositing stablecoins USDC / USDT into USD wallet.

1. Free conversion + rate calculator: Convert KES to USD or USD to NGN instantly, free, no min or max. The app's rate calculator now shows KES rates in real time.

CEO Emmanuel Sohe said the launch is about connecting Kenyans to global digital economy, not just remittance.

Note: Cardtonic says it works through licensed payment partners in Kenya and is not itself a licensed bank. Stablecoin features may change with regulation. Do your own checks.

Why Kenya matters for expansion

Kenya is deliberate, not random. Kenya has one of the most advanced mobile money systems in Africa. M-Pesa is daily life - used for groceries, matatu, tokens, school fees. Any fintech that wants East Africa must work with M-Pesa.

Also Kenya has high demand for dollars - freelancers earning from Upwork, students paying foreign fees, shoppers buying online. Most Kenyan banks charge high for dollar cards. A dollar wallet with virtual card is attractive.

For Cardtonic, Kenya is bridge between West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana) and South Africa. It proves their model can travel: Lagos -> Accra -> Nairobi -> Johannesburg. It also tests their global USD settlement strategy they announced Oct 23, 2026.

How multi-currency wallets help users

Simple example: Mercy in Nairobi does design on Fiverr.

• Client pays her in Amazon gift card. She sells on Cardtonic, chooses USD wallet, keeps dollars to save against shilling depreciation.
• When she needs rent, she converts $100 to KES instantly, no fee, and withdraws to M-Pesa in minutes.
• When she needs to pay for Canva Pro, she uses virtual dollar card funded from USD wallet, no bank queue.

You decide where money lands. That is the power: one app to hold, convert, spend, withdraw. For first-time user: download Cardtonic Kenya app, sign up, you will see two balances - KES and USD. Start small, sell a small gift card, test M-Pesa withdrawal, test virtual card with $5.