MoneyGram on Thursday announced a tie-up with Nigeria's GT Bank that would allow customers in Nigeria to access money transferred into their GT Bank accounts from 129 countries within minutes.
A statement from the Nasdaq-listed international money transfer and payment service noted that, according to the World Bank, Nigeria accounted for around two-thirds of total remittance inflow to sub-Saharan Africa.
Speaking after a signing ceremony in Lagos with Tayo Asupoto, GT Bank general manager for operations, MoneyGram chief executive Alex Holmes said remittances were crucial to Nigeria's economy.
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He added: “Nigerians living abroad sent more than $21 billion back into the country in 2015 - MoneyGram's account deposit service makes it easy and convenient for both the sender and the receiver to transfer and receive funds.
“We are pleased to work with GT Bank and we are proud to be connected to almost 1.5 billion bank accounts in five of the world's largest remittance receiving markets, Nigeria, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines.”
For its part, GTBank has more than 230 branches in Nigeria, as well as banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Cote D'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom.
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The bank's Asupoto added: “This collaboration with MoneyGram is a reflection of the bank's commitment to building strategic partnerships that birth innovative financial solutions and provide our customers with a superior banking experience.”
MoneyGram added that remittance was the second largest source of foreign exchange in Nigeria after the oil sector.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria accounted for around two-thirds of total remittance inflow to Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, an estimated $21 billion flowed into the country, an estimated $5.7 billion from the US $3.7 billion from the UK, $2.4 billion from Cameroon, $1 billion from Italy and $800 million from Ghana.
AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY