Transferwise’s Re-Entry to Nigeria: Kudos Flutterwave, Congratulations Nigeria!

Thanks to the partnership with Flutterwave, TransferWise customers in the UK and around the world can now use their debit cards, or online banking on the TransferWise website and mobile app to send money to family and friends with verified bank accounts in Nigeria.

I just published “Welcome to Nigeria, Again, TransferWise.” https://t.co/pYmNweh1Mk

— Flutterwave (@theflutterwave) October 24, 2017

According to an announcement by Flutterwave on Medium, a new partnership arrangement has been struck by the two payment firms which will ensure that TransferWise will be leveraging Flutterwave’s Pan-African payments infrastructure to send money into any verified Nigerian bank account.

We're proud to partner with African fintech @theflutterwave to offer transparent & low-cost transfers to Nigeria: https://t.co/4jz1hrgaMh https://t.co/scfrfgcWQx

— Wise (ex-TransferWise) (@Wise) October 24, 2017

This is an exciting news for a number of reasons. First is that the return of Transferwise to the Nigerian Economy indicates an implicit confidence in the currency regime of our country. Recall that Transferwise ceased its service to Nigeria in April 2016 saying it could not offer a true mid-market rate and a transparent fee. Now, the perception has changed.

“We have monitored the market closely over the past year and recent efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria have strengthened our confidence in the naira,” said Kristo Kaarmann, the CEO and co-founder, Transferwise, had told Reuters.

The second reason is that foreign transfers mean a lot to our economy. According to a World Bank report, Around $20 billion a year is sent to Nigeria. In fact, foreign remittances (money transfers) make up the second-largest source of foreign exchange receipts in Africa’s biggest economy after oil revenues.

Kaarmann also indicated to Reuters that Transferwise had received more than 10,0000 requests from customers who wanted to use the firm to send funds to Nigeria. To check out a bit of how it works:

For this attainment, Flutterwave has made this claim:”By re-opening this corridor; Nigerian families and communities looking to get paid from diaspora relatives, friends, business partners, and loved ones around the world, we will spur further growth in the Nigerian economy.”

With this, I totally agree!