The movement of money in Africa — Ecobank’s slashes the cost of international remittances with the…

The movement of money in Africa — Ecobank’s slashes the cost of international remittances with the Rapidtransfer app

The state of financial transactions and transfers in Zambia and other African countries is frustrating and exciting. It is complex and ripe for change in terms of tools to facilitate transactions and transfers, cross platform integration and levels of acceptance and trust.

Moving money within African countries has become somewhat easier with the ever increasing range of money transfer options. But what about moving money from one African country to another? Or from any continent to an African country?

“Historically the cost of sending cross-border remittances in Africa has been far too high. The process to send funds has long been inefficient and burdensome, with customers forced to physically go to an agent, and yet still have little or no clarity as to when the money will reach the recipient.” Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO of Ecobank.

The fact is that a substantial proportion of migrants financially support their dependants ‘back home’ and the potential size of this remittance market is large. Here are some rather staggering remittance facts!

• In the first quarter of 2018, the average cost of sending US$200 was 7.1%
• Remittance services in Sub-Saharan Africa were the most costly worldwide at an average cost of 9.4% for US$200
• The United Nations’ estimate that the number of international migrants, including refugees, was 258 million in 2017
• Money transfers from migrant workers and others to all countries worldwide were US$613 billion in 2017
• Money transfers from migrant workers and others into Sub-Saharan Africa grew by US$4 billion, to US$38 billion in 2017
• Remittances play a very important part of many national economies — their inflows represent 27% and 21% of Liberia and The Gambia’s Gross Domestic Product respectively
• The international Sustainable Development Goal aims to reduce the average transaction cost of remittances to less than 3% of the remittance amount by 2030

Enter Ecobank’s Rapidtransfer app. Charges range from 0% to 3% depending on the options the customer selects. It enables Africans wherever they may be to easily and instantly send money to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash collection in — and across — 33 African countries.

Ecobank, the pan-African bank, is harnessing its digital expertise and innovation to bring efficiency and convenience to the international and intra-African remittance markets, while significantly reducing the costs to send funds.

Key facts about the Rapidtransfer App

• Choose how and when funds are delivered
• Transparent foreign exchange rates prior to each transaction — charges range from 0% to 3%
• Multi-lingual with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese variants
• Intuitive, easy to navigate with simple and secure digital on-boarding
• The only pan-African money transfer service owned by an African bank

As a pan-African bank, Ecobank is committed to enhancing the economic development and financial integration of the African continent. Mr. Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO of Ecobank went on to say, “We know that remittance flows into and across Africa from migrants working away from home has an enormously beneficial impact in powering Africa’s domestic economies. By reducing the costs to send the money, Rapidtransfer ultimately enables the beneficiary to receive more of the funds originally sent to them, which in turn will have a multiplier effect on national economies by boosting demand and driving business growth.”

Mr Ayeyemi said, “The Rapidtransfer app remittance solution is a quick, easy and reliable digital solution that removes all the issues previously associated with international remittances. It is a game-changer for Africans with its sustainable and standout affordability.”

This is certainly a positive move by Ecobank, making it one of the most competitively priced international remittance tools on the market.

About Ecobank, the pan-African bank behind this bold move

• Incorporated in Togo in 1988
• Has a presence in 36 African countries
• Employs 15,930 people, in 40 different countries, across 940 branches and offices
• Ecobank provides wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services
• It works with governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organisations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals

Find out more and use the Rapidtransfer App today

• Download the Rapidtransfer App on the App Store or Google Play
• See Ecobank Zambia on thebestofzambia.com
• Find out more about Ecobank on their website