Ecobank, Alipay to Facilitate International Money Transfers

By Adedapo Adesanya

In line with its plans to bring more inclusive and fast financial services that cut across borders, top pan-African bank, Ecobank, recently signed a cross-border remittance agreement with Chinese payment and lifestyle platform, Alipay.

It was disclosed that the partnership will facilitate instant transfers from Rapidtransfer, Ecobank’s remittance solution, to more than 1.2 billion users of Alipay globally through their local e-wallet partners in each country.

The partnership between both parties will create an additional channel choice which will increase options available to users, help lower transaction costs and enhance the quality of service in the market.

Speaking on this, the Group Consumer Banking Head, Ecobank (Ghana), Mr Nana Abban, said that this was a fast, safe, affordable and convenient way for people who live and work in foreign countries to transfer money back home.

“Our pan-African cross-border remittance solution, Rapidtransfer, has over the years been delivering transparent, convenient, and affordable services to the African diaspora and their African-based dependants.

“So, it is a natural extension for us to use it to deliver the same advantages to migrant workers across Africa. Through our partnership with Alipay we are further leveraging the scale and capacity of our unified payments ecosystem on the global stage.”

According to Mr Ma Zhiguo, Head Global Remittances Business for Alipay, “We are excited to partner with Ecobank and use our technology to bring fast, affordable, and convenient remittance services to more users globally, especially workers who are living far from home.”

“We are committed to working with partners such as Ecobank, using innovative technologies to help global consumers gain access to inclusive financial services, creating greater value for society and bringing equal opportunities to the world,” he added.

It was noted that acceptance of people will be needed as the solution will be rolled out across the entire footprint of the services.