Xpress Money Augments Its Presence in the African Remittance Market

DUBAI, UAE, September 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The potent forces of globalization and migration make the global economy a formidable entity. Migration is integral as it helps boost the economy of the host country while simultaneously bolstering the economy of the origin country through remittances. One of the few continents where remittance inflow has eclipsed foreign aid and Official Development Assistance (ODA) is Africa. World Bank reports reveal, remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa accelerated 11.4% reaching US$ 38bn in 2017. Nigeria is the highest recipient of remittances at US$ 21.9bn followed by Senegal and Ghana. Remittances in several countries in Africa account for a significant share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Further the report estimates around US$ 41bn to be remitted to Sub- Saharan Africa in 2018. Xpress Money, one of the most dependable money transfer brands in the world understands the market potential for remittances across Africa. Over the last 2 to 3 years Xpress Money has strategically streamlined its efforts in the African market to widen its brand presence and customer outreach in the second largest and second most populous continent in the world. The outlook for remittances in Africa holds promise for the diaspora and their beneficiaries as Xpress Money believes remittances can be accessible, affordable and convenient for its African audience.

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Despite impressive remittance inflows in the African continent, the average cost for money transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to be high at 9.07% in Q2 2018 compared to the global average of 6.99% in Q2 2018. One of the prima facie reasons for the high global average of remittance costs is the bane of exclusivity contracts in certain countries, a hindrance to healthy competition. Xpress Money strongly believes that an open architecture is the need of the hour for the industry to flourish and benefit the customer.

With a thriving presence in more than 165 countries across continents, Xpress Money has been partnering with major financial institutions in Africa, to conscientiously bring down the high remittance costs in the region. Continuing with the aggressive expansion that began in 2015, from 2016 - 2018 Xpress Money has strategically increased its presence in Africa through collaborations with major banks, telcos and NBFC's across the region. Leading financial players like Cooperative Bank in Kenya, DFCU Bank in Uganda, I&M Bank in Rwanda, ADB Bank in Ghana, GAS in Ghana, UNB in Ghana, Zenith Bank in Ghana, FBN in Senegal and Real Transfer in Namibia have been added to Xpress Money's network of partners in Africa. Currently Xpress Money's network strength in Africa translates into more than 7500 agent locations and by the end of 2019 Xpress Money is likely to add many more countries thus increasing its network to 10,000 locations across Africa.

Africa is one of the frontrunners and early adopters of digital channels within the global remittance industry. Capitalising on the benefits of newer channels of money transfer, Xpress Money has fostered partnerships to provide its African customer base the convenience of the mobile money transfer technology. Currently, Xpress Money offers mobile wallet services across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Cameroon, in partnership with 10 mobile wallet service providers, to serve a customer base of over 1 billion. The brand plans to add 8 more countries to this list over the next 15 months.

Talking about the brand's strategy for Africa, Sudhesh Giriyan, COO, Xpress Money elucidated, "I strongly believe that the future of remittances lies in embracing partnerships and collaborations that will help lower remittance costs and in reaching out to the 'unbanked' thus enabling the end customer. The success of digital remittances in Africa endorses the customer's appetite for convenient money transfer methods. This puts the onus on global money transfer organizations like Xpress Money to make conscious efforts towards leveraging the right partnerships to build a formidable brand presence."  

Xpress Money has a thriving presence in 165 countries across all continents through 200,000 agent partner locations. Its widespread network is strengthened by collaborations with renowned organizations that include international money transfer operators (IMTOs), banking as well as non-banking institutions, retail chains, online remittance players and fintech companies. Visit http://www.xpressmoney.com for more information.