Ugandans in the diaspora in over 50 countries can now send money instantly for easy collection as cash at 35 branches across the country. This is due to a partnership between world’s leading digital money transfers service, WorldRemit and Bank of Africa.
The partnership announcement was made at Bank of Africa head office, Friday, in Kampala.
Speaking about the partnership, the Bank's Managing Director, Arthur Isiko labeled it a major milestone towards their commitment in pursuing digital innovations aimed at improving customers’ experience.
“Over the last decade the banking sector has seen massive changes, we have come a long way from our traditional banking systems and a digital future beckons. With this partnership the bank has raised new possibilities to cater for the current trends in financial technology and banking innovation,” Isiko said.
“Millions of Ugandans living in diaspora can now send money instantly for collection as cash at Bank of Africa branches using the WorldRemit app or website since majority send money to family and friends. Therefore, this partnership is an incredibly important lifeline game charger to our customers,” he added.
Sharon Kinyanjui, the Head of East and Central Africa at WorldRemit expressed delight with the partnership saying it would give the Ugandan diaspora a wider choice of cash pick up locations across the country.
“Africa now accounts for over half of WorldRemit’s transactions globally, and our ongoing collaboration with Bank of Africa will support our plan to serve 10 million customers connected to emerging markets by 2020,” Kinyanjui said.
In 2017, remittances to low and middle income countries reached $466b, while $613b was recorded for global remittances during the same year. According to African Development Bank (ADB) statistical projections, global remittances are expected to grow by 4.6 percent to $642 billion in 2018.
With the growth in remittances therefore, it is crucial that the banking sector steps in to simplify the process and reduce the cost of sending money home for livelihoods and investment.
These remittances will help Uganda to narrow the gap of economic standing and disparities between its economy and that of other countries since they are known to exceed official aid transfers in some regions and act as a buffer from economic shocks.
WorldRemit is a digital money transfer service obtained through a mobile app to enable sending and receiving money instantly through Mobile Money, bank transfer, cash pickup, and mobile airtime top-up to over 50 countries and more than 145 destinations.
