- Conference will be held on 23–24 October 2018
- Thought leaders will be talking about the African remittance ecosystem and remittance services
- Remittances have increased in Nigeria and Egypt in the past few years
- The headline theme according to reports is “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa”
Thought leaders in the cross-border payments industry will be meeting in Lagos on 23–24 October 2018 to discuss the current situation of the African remittance ecosystem and to explore opportunities in the sector based on the needs of the region.
As Africa starts to receive more international money transfers from Africans working and living abroad, leading international money transfer and foreign exchange brands have had to look for solutions to make sending and receiving money easier and less costly to address the needs of the African market.
Some brands started partnering with African banks to improve the efficiency of global transfers, the most recent of which is Xpress Money’s partnership with the Co-operative Bank of Kenya and WorldRemit’s partnership with the First Bank of Nigeria. Data from the World Bank notes that Nigeria’s remittance recipients received $22bn in 2017 while Egypt received $20bn.
As remittances increase, experts note the need to align inflow with the payment systems available in Africa. The latter needs improvement as remittance services are not as efficient or as affordable when compared to other parts of the world.
West Ekhator, Mobile Money Africa’s Event Director, said in a statement: “The formal market for international and cross-border money transfer to Africa is still young and faces typical emerging markets challenges when compared to more established markets, so we are at the forefront of delivering highly engaging event platforms for supply-side decision makers in the remittance ecosystem to network and explore partners in the evolving remittance and payment ecosystem in Africa.”
For further information about making regular international money transfers to Africa, take a look at this article here.
