Overseas remittances to Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries will increase from $33bn in 2014 to $34bn in 2015, according to the World Bank Remittances Brief.
The Chief Executive Officer, HomeSend, an international transfer hub created by MasterCard, eServGlobal and BICS, Mr. Stephen Doyle, while quoting the World Bank data, said remittances were a vital contributor to the Gross Domestic Product of various African economies.
“Africans abroad are increasingly playing an important role in the development of many African countries through remittances,” he added.
Doyle, however, noted that the cost of remitting money to Africa remained high, with a large proportion of remittances being sent informally in cash.
According to him, by digitising and formalising remittance payments, HomeSend is helping to create new remittance corridors, expand the scope of cashless money transfers, and extend financial inclusion and support economic growth.
He said, “For millions of Africans, the receipt of funds from friends and family living abroad is an important lifeline. Thanks to HomeSend, workers overseas no longer need to worry about whether their hard earned money will be received by their loved ones at home. “
The company has live deployments in 50 countries and commercial contracts with mobile network operators and money transfer operators that represent more than 1.2 billion subscribers.
According to Doyle, the company bridges the gap between various entities globally such as financial institutions, non-financial entities and mobile network operators, enabling Africans living and working abroad to send money from mobile money accounts, payment cards, bank accounts or cash outlets back home.
A statement by MasterCard quoted the HomeSend CEO as saying that the company was in the process of connecting its worldwide community of telecom partners and the MTOs to the more than 24,000 financial institutions on the MasterCard network to provide consumers with more options and flexibility for sending or receiving funds and enable cross border remittance payments worldwide.
The statement quoted Doyle as saying this when HomeSend was named the Best Payment Product in Africa at the Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Awards 2015.
The award recognises payment products that efficiently enable secure, end-to-end transactions for customers, utilising innovative channels or devices.
Commenting on the award, Doyle said, “We are extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award. This award recognises the strides we are making in providing a convenient, safe, and cost effective money transfer channel to Africans, many of whom are unbanked and underbanked.”
HomeSend is a joint venture created by MasterCard, eServGlobal and BICS that enables B2B cross-border and cross-network value transfers through a single connection.
It builds on the successful deployment of mobile enabled person-to-person transfers in emerging markets and the digitalisation of money transfer services.
Punch
