# Iftin Express, Juba Express and Taaj: three Somali money transfer firms > Iftin Express, Juba Express and Taaj in facts: where each is registered and licensed, how a 2013 survey of aid agencies describes them, and the 2020 Bosaso study. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/businesses/iftin-juba-express-and-taaj/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## The short version Somali money transfer companies, also called hawala firms, carry most of the money that Somalis abroad send home. Iftin Express, Juba Express and [Taaj](/en/economy/hawala-and-money-transfer-companies/) each have offices in Somalia and in countries where many Somalis live. This page puts what public registers and studies say about the three in one place. ## Iftin Express Iftin Express Limited was incorporated in England on 28 June 2006 ([Companies House, 05860963](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/05860963)). The Central Bank of Kenya licensed Iftin Express as a money remittance provider on 10 July 2014, with an office at Portal Place in central Nairobi ([Central Bank of Kenya, licensed remittance providers, 30 September 2026](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers-as-at-September-30-2026.pdf)). The Central Bank of Somalia lists it as a licensed money transfer business ([Central Bank of Somalia, licensed money transfer](https://centralbank.gov.so/licensed-money-transfer/)). ## Juba Express Juba Express Limited was incorporated in England on 20 October 2009 ([Companies House, 07049593](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07049593)). Kenya licensed it on the same day as Iftin, 10 July 2014, with an office at Hamilton House, Nairobi ([Central Bank of Kenya, 30 September 2026](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers-as-at-September-30-2026.pdf)). In a 2013 survey of aid agencies working in Somalia, 8% said they used Juba Express to move money, the same share as Amal and behind Dahabshiil at 69% ([Beechwood International, 2013, p. 55](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c4e04ed915d3d0e87b799/SAFER_CORRIDORS_RAPID_ASSESSMENT__2013__SOMALIA___UK_BANKING.PDF)). The Central Bank of Somalia also lists Juba Express as licensed ([Central Bank of Somalia](https://centralbank.gov.so/licensed-money-transfer/)). ## Taaj Taaj Money Transfer was licensed in Kenya on 2 October 2015, with an office at Shariff Centre in Eastleigh, the Somali trading district of Nairobi ([Central Bank of Kenya, directory, 2016](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers.pdf)). It does not appear on the Kenyan register of 30 September 2026 ([Central Bank of Kenya, 30 September 2026](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers-as-at-September-30-2026.pdf)). ## The 2020 Bosaso study In September 2020 Reuters reported on a study by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, a Geneva research group, which matched nearly six years of transfer records from [Bosaso](/en/regions/bari/) with phone records ([Reuters via The Business Standard, 17 September 2020](https://www.tbsnews.net/node/134263)). It said Amal, Iftin, Dahabshiil and Taaj had together moved more than $3.7 million between suspected weapons dealers in [Somalia and Yemen](/en/relations/yemen/). It said two transfers to a Yemeni under US sanctions went through Amal and Iftin. It found no transfers by Dahabshiil or Taaj to sanctioned people, but found customers using several names and numbers with all four firms. Iftin said the transfer slip in the report was fake and that it reported every transfer over $10,000 to the Somali authorities (same source). In April 2021 Amal said an investigation by the Central Bank of Somalia had cleared it, and asked the research group to withdraw its report ([Hiiraan Online, April 2021](https://hiiraan.com/news4/2021/Apr/182169/amal_express_demands_apology_from_geneva_watchdog_following_central_bank_clearance.aspx)). ## Related - [Somali money transfer companies: directory](/en/businesses/money-transfer-companies/) - [Amal Group](/en/businesses/amal-group/), [Dahabshiil](/en/businesses/dahabshiil/), [Tawakal Express](/en/businesses/tawakal-express/) - [Somali businesses in the UK](/en/economy/somali-business-in-the-uk/) - [Eastleigh: Somali business in Nairobi](/en/economy/eastleigh-somali-business/) --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.