To mark the 10th anniversary of the first mobile money service M-PESA, WorldRemit has released data which reveals that the Kenyan diaspora is the biggest sender of digital remittances to mobile accounts.

“Kenya is famed for leading Africa’s digital transformation, and today it’s Kenyans abroad are at the forefront of digitizing international money transfers. Most of our Kenyan customers use our mobile app, demonstrating the strong demand for convenience when sending to friends and family,” said Ismail Ahmed, Founder and CEO at WorldRemit.

According to the report, transfers to mobile money accounts make up 93 percent of WorldRemit transactions to Kenya. This shows that Kenyans continue to be early adopters of innovative technology, even when abroad. In January 2017, WorldRemit customers transferred more than $140m to Kenya, making WorldRemit one of the largest remittance companies serving the Kenyan diaspora. About three million Kenyans live abroad, with large communities in North America, Europe and Australia. The top remittance-sending countries are the UK, Australia, US, Germany, Canada and Nordic countries.

Remittances play an important role in Kenya’s economy. According to the Central Bank of Kenya inward remittances reached a record value of about $161m in November 2016, making it one of the nation’s top earners. Mobile money has played a key role in the growth of WorldRemit’s Kenyan customer base. It is attracted by the low price, speed and convenience of sending instant remittances from the app or website directly to a mobile phone in Kenya.

“With half a billion registered accounts worldwide, mobile money continues to transform lives by allowing people to access financial services for the first time. WorldRemit customers now send more than 65,000 transfers to the country every month from the WorldRemit app and website with over 90% going to M-PESA,” Ismail stated further.

What you need to know about WorldRemit

  • The company has pioneered mobile-to-mobile remittances, sending to 32 mobile money services in 24 countries – more than any other money transfer service.
  • Globally, WorldRemit customers send more than 580,000 transfers every month to over 140 destinations. WorldRemit makes sending money as easy as sending an instant message.
  • WorldRemit is now connected to over a fifth of all mobile money accounts – 112 million of 500 million mobile money accounts around the world.
  • 74 percent of all international remittances to mobile money accounts coming from money transfer operators are sent via WorldRemit.
  • WorldRemit’s global headquarters are in London, UK with regional offices in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow