Equity Bank in Kenya has partnered with NALA, an app that allows the diaspora in the UK and US to send money to certain African nations, to make transfers easier.
In a press release, Equity Bank of Kenya said:
“The partnership will allow Kenyans living in the United Kingdom and the United States to send money directly from their banks, through the NALA app, instantly and at the most competitive rates to Equity Bank Kenya accounts and other mobile wallets.”
The remittance payment processing platform recently got a license from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to also facilitate money transfers out of Kenya. This comes several months after raising $10 million from investors to help with expansion.
For now, people in the UK and US can send remittances to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana and South Africa using the NALA app.
NALA previously signed a similar deal with Equity Bank in Tanzania.
Speaking on the partnership, Benjamin Fernandes, CEO, NALA, said:
“Combining NALA’s technology with Equity Bank’s reach allows us to build a stronger financial infrastructure for Kenyans worldwide. Payments in Africa are 1% built, and technology enables us to make strides towards integrating the financial tools for advancement.”
Another new office for NALA is opening in Nairobi which will house a third of the organization’s workers. While NALA employs a distributed workforce across the globe, operational elements including partnerships and customer support will be based at the Nairobi headquarters, led by Nicolai Eddy, NALA’s Chief Operating Officer.
Africa remains the most expensive continent to transmit money to despite the variety of choices available for doing so from overseas. The average transfer fee to Africa is estimated by the World Bank to be 9%. Furthermore, a lot of the currently available solutions have unstated charges that make it difficult to determine the actual cost of sending money.