Overview
- Tando, which launched in Kenya on Friday, uses the Lightning Network to send Bitcoin to a local phone number and deliver Kenyan shillings into a mobile-money account.
- Recipients do not need a crypto wallet or seed phrase and see the money arrive in M-PESA through the same flow they already use.
- Lightning processes payments near instantly with tiny fees, which makes small transfers practical compared with Bitcoin’s slower main blockchain.
- The company calls the product a payment disbursement service and says it never holds user Bitcoin, so the app does not run identity checks.
- The service enters a crowded field that includes Strike and Machankura, and it leans on Kenya’s mobile-money reach, which covers more than 80% of adults.