WorldRemit customers in over 50 countries can now send remittances to all Abay Bank accounts in Ethiopia directly from their phones
ADDIS ABABA–Leading digital money transfer service WorldRemit has joined forces with Abay Bank for instant money transfers to Ethiopia.
The new partnership further increases WorldRemit’s footprint in the country and allows the two million members of the Ethiopian diaspora living in over 50 countries to send money home quickly and securely to over half a million bank accounts and 170 cash pick up locations in Ethiopia. The deal supports WorldRemit’s plan to serve 10 million customers connected to emerging markets by 2020.
A full list of cash pick up locations in Ethiopia can be found here.
In the past year, transactions to Ethiopia via WorldRemit grew by 160%. Top remittance sending countries to Ethiopia via WorldRemit include Australia, United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
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Abay Bank is one of the Ethiopia’s highly competitive banks with an extensive network of over 170 branches across the country and a strong reputation for customer service. Remittances play an important role in Ethiopia’s economy, with estimates suggesting that Ethiopia may have received over $3 billion in remittances in 2015, accounting for over 7% of its GDP.
However, the majority of Ethiopia’s remittance flows are sent through informal, unregulated channels, which increases the cost and inconvenience of sending money. According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region globally to send money to.
“Abay Bank is a highly competitive private bank in Ethiopia. We are delighted to give its customers access to our best in class online money transfer service, as well as offer a greater choice of cash pickup locations across the country.
“Ethiopia is one of our fastest growing markets in East Africa, and this key partnership will further support the country’s transition from costly offline remittances to safer, faster and lower cost online transfer methods.” Sharon Kinyanjui, Head of East and Central Africa at WorldRemit
”Abay Bank currently works with many known and trusted money transfer agents. The agreement with WorldRemit to work as a business partner will enhance our accessibility and efficiency in serving our esteemed customer specifically in money transfer services.” Mr. Belete Dagnew, Vice President – Corporate Service at Abay Bank
Last year WorldRemit became Arsenal FC’s first-ever online money transfer partner in a global sponsorship deal. WorldRemit customers complete one million transfers every month from over 50 countries to over 145 destinations. More than half of its transfers go to Africa.
Visit the WorldRemit website for more information on how to send money to Ethiopia.
Abay Bank was founded in November 2009 and started operation in the first week of November 2010 with a capital of Birr 174.5 million and 823 founding shareholders. The bank has approximately 4,000 shareholders, a paid-up capital of Birr 1.33 billion (as of 30th June 2017) and 169 branches (as of September 2018) all over the country.
Source: WorldRemit