Money transfer companies
Iftin Express, Juba Express and Taaj: three Somali money transfer firms
Iftin Express, Juba Express and Taaj are Somali money transfer companies that serve the routes from the UK, Kenya and the Gulf to Somalia. Iftin and Juba are registered in the UK, since 2006 and 2009, and were both licensed in Kenya on 10 July 2014. Taaj was licensed in Kenya in October 2015 from an office in Eastleigh, Nairobi. A 2020 study of transfer records in Bosaso examined Iftin and Taaj, together with Amal and Dahabshiil.
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 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). 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). The Central Bank of Somalia lists it as a licensed money transfer business (Central Bank of Somalia, licensed money transfer).
Juba Express
Juba Express Limited was incorporated in England on 20 October 2009 (Companies House, 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). 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). The Central Bank of Somalia also lists Juba Express as licensed (Central Bank of Somalia).
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). It does not appear on the Kenyan register of 30 September 2026 (Central Bank of Kenya, 30 September 2026).
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 with phone records (Reuters via The Business Standard, 17 September 2020). It said Amal, Iftin, Dahabshiil and Taaj had together moved more than $3.7 million between suspected weapons dealers in Somalia and 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).
Related
Sources
- Companies House, 05860963 · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
- Central Bank of Kenya, licensed remittance providers, 30 September 2026 · centralbank.go.ke
- Central Bank of Somalia, licensed money transfer · centralbank.gov.so
- Companies House, 07049593 · find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
- Beechwood International, 2013, p. 55 · assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- Central Bank of Kenya, directory, 2016 · centralbank.go.ke
- Reuters via The Business Standard, 17 September 2020 · tbsnews.net
- Hiiraan Online, April 2021 · hiiraan.com
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Where this matters
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Somali money transfer companies: directorySomali money transfer companies: the Central Bank of Somalia's licensed firms, Somali-run firms licensed in Kenya and firms in the UK, with founding year, base and source.
- Dahabshiil: the largest Somali money transfer companyDahabshiil in facts: how it began, its size, its bank and telecom interests, its regulators, and the 2013 Barclays case.
- Al-Barakat (Al-Barakaat): the Somali money and phone company shut in 2001Al-Barakat in facts: its founding in 1987, size by 2001, the US and UN listing after 9/11, what the 9/11 Commission found, the delistings and the relaunch.
- WorldRemit and Zepz: the money app founded by Ismail AhmedWorldRemit in facts: its Somali founder Ismail Ahmed, founding in 2010, the link to ZAAD, funding rounds, Sendwave and Zepz, and regulators' findings.
- Amal group: Amal Express, Amal Bank and the 2020 to 2021 auditThe Amal group in facts: Amal Express and Amal Bank, licences, leadership, the GI-TOC report on arms payments and the Central Bank audit, and where sources differ.
- Kaah Express and KIMS: the money transfer firm and its microfinance armKaah Express and Kaah International Microfinance Services in facts: licences, the 2014 launch, branches, clients, awards, goals, and the separate Kaah Electric company.