Africans who have been at the receiving ends of shylock remittance agencies for years now are in for a sigh of relief with the recent partnership agreement entered into by Irish FinTech, Pipit Global Partners and Pan-African Fintech Cellulant. The partnership aims to power cheaper and safer means for Africans in the EU and UK to send cash to their families at home in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, and Ghana

According to available reports, about 8 million Africans live abroad. That number is projected to reach 15 Million by 2025. For most African’s living abroad, sending money back home to your family can be very expensive. In the UK, the average cost to send cash abroad is 9.5%, so for example, if you were sending £120 from the UK to Africa, it would cost roughly £11.40 in fees.

Although the cost has come down in recent years, it is still too high and is more than double the 3% cost target set by the United Nations.

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With this partnership, consumers in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, and Ghana can now avail of transactions through the pipit platform at lower rates than ever before as Pipit has gone live in those countries. The Pipit CEO Ollie Walsh, said that “Going live in these countries is a big step forward for intra-African remittances.

70% of African’s who migrate stay on the continent of Africa where the cost of sending money home across African borders is much higher than the fees for sending cash home from the EU – and can reach 20% in some corridors.

Pipit, along with Cellulant, can now solve this problem by making it cheaper and safer for migrants to send cash to their families at home.”

According to Cellulant’s Chief Business Officer for Enterprise, David Waithaka, ‘’We believe that for Africans to thrive, we need to purposefully create bridges that lessen the geographical, wealth and social gaps and link communities and their resources with others”.

“Cellulant using technology to build new types of networks that connect those who have goods and services with those who need them”.

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“We are happy to extend our digital payments platform- Tingg, and support Pipit’s work in connecting the African Diaspora with low-cost payment solutions that allow them to support their families in the continent.”

The partnership between Cellulant and Pipit means that Africans in the UK and EU from any of the listed African countries can conveniently send cash home, top-up an eWallet, send money to a bank account and pay bills for their families. They can also pay for an eCommerce order and have the goods delivered in Africa.

“Every consumer in Africa should be able to access their money easily and pay for goods and services in a way that is convenient for them.

Digital payments make this possible, and through this partnership, we are ensuring that consumers across Africa and in the Diaspora can seamlessly access services they need and make their lives easier,’’ added David.

In the UK, migrant workers from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Senegal, and Ghana can access the Pipit Global platform through the PayPoint network of more than 28,000 cash acceptance points across the UK; and 35,000 points across the Western EU countries.

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The Pipit Global partnership also brings lower-cost remittance within the African continent with the addition of 620,000 cash collection points in Nigeria, doubling the Pipit global footprint to 1.1 million collection points.

“We are building a global network of payment partners who recognise that for a growing segment of our society, cash is the main means of managing their finances.

Together we are building the technology to allow them to use their cash in the digital marketplace in increasingly secure and cost-effective ways.

We expect to keep growing as more customers trust the platform and enjoy the lower costs of sending money back home,” continues Ollie Walsh.

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The COVID pandemic has accelerated the demand for digital financial products, and partnerships between financial technology companies such as Cellulant and Pipit bridge the gap between continents and make it easier for customers to access financial services with ease.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry