Honest answers

Questions
people actually
ask us.

We have tried to answer everything clearly, without jargon. If something is still unclear, write to us at erickkanja976@gmail.com.

The basics
What exactly is Hakika?

Hakika is a web-based platform that lets Kenyans in the diaspora send money home with optional conditions attached. You can use it for standard transfers that land in M-Pesa fast, or for conditional transfers where the money is held in escrow until your recipient proves it will be used correctly.

The name means "certainty" in Swahili. That is the core promise — you know where your money goes.

How is this different from just sending M-Pesa?

With M-Pesa, the money lands and it is gone. You have no idea what happens to it after that. There is no condition you can attach, no proof you can require, no automatic return if it goes unspent on the right thing.

Hakika adds a trust layer on top of the existing payment rails. Standard transfers work exactly like M-Pesa. Conditional transfers let you send money with accountability built in — proof required, deadline enforced, automatic return if conditions are not met.

Do I need to download an app?

The sender's experience runs in a web browser — no app download needed. The recipient back home uses a lightweight Hakika app to receive notifications and upload proof. It is available on Android and iOS and is free to download.

Who is Hakika built for?

Hakika is built for Africans in the diaspora — primarily in the UK, US, Canada, and Gulf states — who send money home to Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, or Rwanda. If you have family back home and you care how the money is used, Hakika is for you. It is designed for situations where the sender cares how the money is used, not just that it arrived.

The recipient can be any family member in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya or Rwanda with a smartphone and a mobile money account — MTN MoMo, M-Pesa, Vodafone Cash, or Airtel Money.

Conditional payments
What counts as valid proof?

You decide what proof is required when you set up the payment. You can ask for a school fee receipt, a hospital invoice, a photo of purchased goods, a contractor progress photo, or any document that makes sense for the purpose.

The recipient uploads whatever you agreed on. You — not Hakika — review the proof and decide whether it is satisfactory. You know what a real receipt from your child's school looks like. We do not try to verify that for you.

The honest limitation: a determined person could photograph a fake receipt. Hakika reduces the problem massively — from zero accountability to documented accountability — but it is not fraud-proof. It is significantly better than the current alternative, which is no accountability at all.

What happens if the deadline passes with no proof?

The money returns to your wallet automatically. No action required from you. The Stellar blockchain handles the return — it is built into the escrow logic, not a manual process on our end.

You will receive a notification when the deadline passes and confirmation when the funds have returned to you.

Can I cancel an escrow once it has been sent?

Yes, as long as the recipient has not yet submitted proof. Once proof is submitted, the escrow enters review mode and cancellation requires both parties to agree. Once you have approved and released, the transaction is final and cannot be reversed.

Can I send money in stages, not all at once?

Yes. Milestone payments let you break a total amount into tranches, each with its own proof requirement and deadline. You might release 30% on a stock photo, another 40% on a sales update, and the final 30% on a month-end report.

This is particularly useful for construction, business funding, or any project where progress happens in verifiable stages.

Money and fees
What currencies can I send from?

At launch, Hakika supports sending from GBP, USD, EUR, and AED. Recipients receive in their local currency — NGN to MTN MoMo or bank in Nigeria, GHS to MTN MoMo or Vodafone Cash in Ghana, KES to M-Pesa in Kenya, and RWF to MTN MoMo in Rwanda. Additional send currencies will be added as we expand.

What are the fees?

Standard transfers carry a small flat fee plus the exchange rate margin — competitive with other remittance services and shown to you clearly before you confirm.

Conditional escrow payments carry an additional small percentage fee on the transferred amount. This covers the blockchain settlement and the escrow infrastructure. The exact fee is always displayed before you confirm — there are no hidden charges.

Exact fee schedule: We will publish the full fee table at launch. Early access users will benefit from reduced fees during the initial period.

Is my money safe while it is in escrow?

Escrow funds sit on the Stellar blockchain, not in a Hakika bank account. This means:

  • If Hakika shut down tomorrow, your escrowed funds would still be accessible on-chain
  • Nobody at Hakika can move your funds without your approval
  • The escrow conditions are written into the blockchain transaction itself — they cannot be altered after the fact

This is one of the core reasons we built on Stellar rather than using a traditional escrow model.

How long does a transfer actually take?

Standard transfers: the money lands in the recipient's mobile wallet within minutes, typically under 5. Stellar settles in 3 to 5 seconds — the small remaining delay is the M-Pesa disbursement process.

Conditional transfers: the funds lock on Stellar immediately. The time to M-Pesa depends on when the recipient uploads proof and when you release — but the moment you approve, it settles in seconds via their local mobile money provider.

Trust and security
Does my recipient need to know about blockchain?

No. From the recipient's perspective, Hakika is just an app where they receive a notification, upload a photo or document, and then receive money in their M-Pesa. The blockchain layer is completely invisible to them.

The recipient never needs to understand Stellar, create a crypto wallet, or interact with any blockchain interface. They just receive a notification, upload a document if required, and collect money via their normal mobile wallet.

What stops someone from submitting a fake receipt?

Nothing technical prevents someone from uploading a fake document. Hakika does not use AI to verify receipts — we think that would be unreliable and create a false sense of security.

What Hakika provides is a clear deterrent and a paper trail. The recipient knows you will be reviewing the document. They know the submission is timestamped on a public blockchain. The combination of accountability and your own knowledge of what a genuine document looks like is more effective than any automated check.

We are honest about this limitation. Hakika turns a situation of zero accountability into documented, verifiable accountability. It is a significant improvement, not a perfect system.

Is Hakika regulated?

Hakika is currently in early access and operating in a pre-launch phase. We are actively working through the regulatory requirements for money transfer services in Kenya and relevant sending countries. Full licensing details will be published before the public launch.

If you have specific regulatory questions, write to us at erickkanja976@gmail.com and we will respond honestly about where we stand.

What happens to my data?

Transaction metadata — amounts, timestamps, wallet addresses — lives on the public Stellar blockchain. Your name, contact details, uploaded documents, and personal information are stored on Hakika's servers and are never published publicly.

We do not sell your data. We do not use it for advertising. A full privacy policy will be published at launch.

Still have
a question?

We read every email. If your question is not answered above, write to us and we will reply within 24 hours.

EMAIL US
Security concerns

If you believe you have found a security issue, email us immediately at erickkanja976@gmail.com. We take all reports seriously and will respond within hours.

Response time

We aim to respond to all emails within 24 hours. During early access, we are a small team — but we read everything and respond to everything.

Early access users

If you are on the early access waitlist, you will receive product updates and the chance to give feedback that directly shapes how Hakika is built.

Ready to send
with certainty?

JOIN THE WAITLIST