- New partnership expands remittance options for the Kenyan diaspora
Nairobi & London, 14 August 2017 - Leading digital money transfer service WorldRemit and the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) have launched a
major partnership to enable Kenyans living abroad to make instant transfers
home. WorldRemit users can now make instant bank deposits to NBK accounts held
in both Kenyan Shillings and US Dollars, as well as send funds for cash pickup
in KES across NBK’s extensive branch network.
NBK is one of the largest commercial banks in
the country. To meet the dynamic needs of its customers, NBK rolled out
diaspora banking in 2016 to let customers bank in multiple currencies and
create a financial base back home.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya,
Kenyans living abroad sent home over Kshs 177.34 billion (USD 1.71 billion) in
2016, up from Kshs 159.82 (USD 1.54 billion) in 2015, an 11% Year on Year
increase. This makes diaspora remittances Kenya’s largest source of foreign
exchange - ahead of key industries such as tea and horticulture.
Since the start of operations in Kenya,
WorldRemit customers have completed almost 2 million money transfers to the
country. They now send more than 80,000 transactions every month from the
WorldRemit app and website.
Globally, WorldRemit customers send almost
700,000 transfers every month to over 140 destinations. The company is
currently processing 74% of all transfers to mobile money accounts coming from
money transfer operators, according to 2016 GSMA data. WorldRemit makes sending
money as easy as sending an instant message.
Wilfred
Musau, National Bank Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, said: “Our new partnership with WorldRemit is part of the bank’s
commitment to increasing banking convenience for bank for our customers abroad.
We understand that speed and convenience are key to our diaspora customers, and
we are providing these options at a low price through our new partnership with
WorldRemit.”
Ismail
Ahmed, founder and CEO at WorldRemit, comments: “We’re proud to work in partnership with the National Bank of Kenya, a
trusted and dependable financial institution with a wide network of branches
across the country.”
“We are
delighted that this partnership will enable us to offer an enhanced service to
our Kenyan customers. They can now transfer funds to NBK accounts quickly, to
be paid out in shillings or dollars. It’s a welcome expansion of our fast, safe
and lower cost online service which has already proved so popular with
Kenyans.”
To find out more on how to send money to Kenya
using WorldRemit, click here.
ENDS
About
the National Bank of Kenya
National Bank is a fully fledged Commercial
Bank listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and established in 1968 to
provide Kenyans access to finance. It has since grown to be one of the largest
commercial banks in the country with a growing network of 80 branch outlets
across the country, over 124 ATMs and electronic channels of Mobile and
Internet Banking. National Bank participates in Corporate Banking, Business
Banking, Retail Banking and Islamic Banking with an extensive portfolio of
products and financial solutions tailored for the requirements of a broad
spectrum of customer segments it serves.
About
WorldRemit
WorldRemit is
changing the way people send money.
It’s easy – just
open the app or visit the website – no more agents.
● Transfers to most
countries are instant – send money like an instant message.
●
●
More ways to receive (Mobile Money, bank transfer,
cash pickup, and mobile airtime top-up).
●
●
Available in over 50 countries and 140+
destinations.
●
●
Backed by Accel Partners and TCV – investors in
Facebook, Spotify, Netflix and Slack.
WorldRemit’s global
headquarters are in London, UK with regional offices in the United States,
Canada, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Australia and New
Zealand.
Images can be found in our media kit here.
Media
Contacts
National
Bank of Kenya
Bernadette Ngara
Director, Marketing and Corporate
Communications
Mobile: +254 (0) 711038869 or 28288869
WorldRemit
Lucas Germanos
Global Lead, PR and Media Relations
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