Ecobank Nigeria has followed the tradition of leadership in digital banking in Africa by introducing a mobile remittance app known as Rapidtransfer.
The Rapidtransfer app was unveiled by the Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, at a commemorative dinner to celebrate the outgoing members of the Ecobank Nigeria Board and to welcome its newly appointed directors.
Akinwuntan said: “Historically, the cost for Nigerians in the diaspora to send funds home has been far too high, while the process itself has long been inefficient and burdensome. Customers often have to physically visit an agent and yet are left with little or no clarity as to when the funds will actually reach the intended recipient. Rapidtransfer removes all of these issues and its standout affordability will be a game-changer in the way that Nigerians can send money to their loved ones.”
At the dinner, Akinwuntan, who was officially welcomed into his new role as Managing Director and Regional Executive of Ecobank Nigeria, and on to the Ecobank Nigeria Board of Directors, said. “Many Nigerians work elsewhere in Africa, or further afield and financially support their relatives back home,” adding “Rapidtransfer is a safe and secure low-cost remittance solution, which ultimately will put more money into the hands of the recipient. This will have a multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy by boosting demand and driving business growth.”
As well as being intuitive, easy to navigate and multi-lingual with English, French, Spanish and Portuguese variants, the app provides simple and secure digital on boarding. Users can choose how and when funds are delivered to the intended beneficiary, with transparent foreign exchange rates prior to each transaction. Charges range from 0 per cent to 3 per cent depending on the options the customer selects. The Rapidtransfer mobile app will enable Nigerians anywhere to easily and instantly send money to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash collection in – and across – 33 African countries and
globally.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest recipient of international remittance inflows and is also the fifth largest remittance recipient globally. It received US$22 billion in 2017[1], which accounted for 5.6 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. In 2015[2] remittances received included $5.59 billion from the United States, $3.7 billion from the United Kingdom and $2.29 billion from
Cameroon.
In the first quarter of 2018, the average cost of sending US$200 globally was 7.1 per cent, and remittance services in Sub-Saharan Africa were the costliest in the world at an average cost of 9.4 per cent. The International Sustainable Development Goal aims to reduce the average transaction cost of remittances to less than 3 per cent of the remittance amount by 2030[4].
