Rada: enterprise-grade, multi-currency payment LN processing system for Africa \ stacker news ~lightning

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Rada: enterprise-grade, multi-currency payment LN processing system for Africa github.com/MWANGAZA-LAB/Rada

768 sats \ 8 comments \ @supratic 31 Aug lightning

Rada is an enterprise-grade, multi-currency payment processing system that integrates M-Pesa, Bitcoin, and Lightning Network payments. Designed for the African fintech ecosystem, it provides a secure, scalable, and developer-friendly platform for merchants and users. Built with Node.js, React Native, and modern DevOps practices.

Payment Methods

M-Pesa Integration - Complete Safaricom M-Pesa API integration
Bitcoin Payments - Direct Bitcoin transaction processing
Lightning Network - Instant Bitcoin payments via Lightning
Multi-Currency Support - KES, BTC, USD, EUR with real-time exchange rates

view all related items

21 sats \ 3 replies \ @optimism 31 Aug

M-Pesa fees for 2025

In Kenyan Shilling:

Amount KSh	Transfer KSh	Withdrawal KSh
49	Free	N/A
100	Free	11
500	7	29
1,000	13	29
1,500	23	29
2,500	33	29
3,500	53	52
5,000	57	69
7,500	78	87
10,000	90	115
15,000	100	167
20,000	105	185
35,000	108	197
50,000	108	278
250,000	108	309

In sats as of 25/8/31 22:00 UTC:

Amount sats	Transfer sats	Withdrawal sats
348	0	-
710	0	78
3551	49	205
7102	92	205
10653	163	205
17755	234	205
24857	376	369
35510	405	489
53265	554	617
71020	639	816
106530	710	1185
142040	745	1314
248571	766	1399
355102	766	1974
1775510	766	2195

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @supratic OP 31 Aug

I like the sats standard, but also easier when % is in

In sats as of 25/8/31 22:00 UTC:

Amount sats	Transfer sats	Withdrawal sats	Transfer %	Withdrawal %
348	0	N/A	0.00%	N/A
710	0	78	0.00%	10.99%
3551	49	205	1.38%	5.77%
7102	92	205	1.29%	2.89%
10653	163	205	1.53%	1.92%
17755	234	205	1.32%	1.15%
24857	376	369	1.51%	1.49%
35510	405	489	1.14%	1.38%
53265	554	617	1.04%	1.16%
71020	639	816	0.90%	1.15%
106530	710	1185	0.67%	1.11%
142040	745	1314	0.53%	0.92%
248571	766	1399	0.31%	0.56%
355102	766	1974	0.22%	0.56%
1775510	766	2195	0.04%	0.12%

Funny enough, the more one transfer the cheaper it become. How's it?

100 sats \ 1 reply \ @optimism 31 Aug

Yeah I was being lazy. This looks much better!

Funny enough, the more one transfer the cheaper it become. How's it?

This is what you get when your fixed price per transaction is more significant than your variable price, normally, but you're under pressure to not charge insanely high prices per tx, which M-Pesa has been facing (see for example the interview from #894366).

However, I'm not entirely convinced that this is the case here! Maybe @KenyaCoin has more insights.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @KenyaCoin 2 Sep

The main competitor, with a relatively tiny market share of the mobile money market, does not charge for in-network transfers (from one Airtel Money customer to another). And they are otherwise mostly less expensive.

Transfers:

Withdrawals:

Most everyone whines about the m-Pesa fees, and LN is just sitting there.

0 sats \ 3 replies \ @KenyaCoin 1 Sep

LOL, Africa is not a country.

M-Pesa is a franchise, available to mobile network operators in many countries, but from a quick glance, Rada is (today), only available with Safaricom M-Pesa (and in Kenya, for KSh conversions only).

I think the only friction in using Rada will be in applying for the API key where they scrutinize the application, where if you are honest and say it is a form of a bitcoin or "crypto" exchange, they will decline granting of the credentials. Will be interesting!

21 sats \ 2 replies \ @supratic OP 2 Sep

LOL, Africa is not a country.

Who said that Africa is a country?

I think the only friction in using Rada will be in applying for the API key where they scrutinize the application, where if you are honest and say it is a form of a bitcoin or "crypto" exchange, they will decline granting of the credentials. Will be interesting!

Well, it will be fun until it works. it's a great fiat-to-btc bridge in Africa, it's open source and could be replicated by anyone else.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @KenyaCoin 2 Sep

Who said that Africa is a country?

Well, it was in the title.

But looks like I passed over the "Designed for the African fintech ecosystem" before having typed that.

While the only service supported, today, is Safaricom M-Pesa (which works only in one country), other similar mobile money services with API access could be added -- whether that be in Africa, or wherever else those Mobile Money operators are.

100 sats \ 0 replies \ @supratic OP 3 Sep

That's true, maybe the author got confuser and used for instead of from. That's where I took it from

While the only service supported, today, is Safaricom M-Pesa (which works only in one country), other similar mobile money services with API access could be added -- whether that be in Africa, or wherever else those Mobile Money operators are.

If this is the case, it could be even more powerful of what I though. As you mentioned earlier, the only issue is the APIs access grant/denial from fiat-minded telco operators. Look forward to seeing more APIs services plugged in.