Mr. Takyi (fouth from left) with Mr. Gely(third from right) launching the product2
Zeepay Ghana Limited and MoneyGram have launched a product to reduce the cost of remittances into the country.
The product dubbed ‘MoneyGram 2 MobileMoney’ is to help Ghanaians abroad to send money back home through mobile money.
Ghana is estimated to formally receive more than $3.5 billion annually from remittances.
However, it is also projected that millions of remittances are channeled thorough informal sources due to the high cost.
Speaking at the launch, the Director Financial Sector Division, Sampson Akligoh lauded Zeepay Ghana and MoneyGram for the product.
He said the product was in line with government’s move to promote financial inclusion in the country.
Mr Agligoh said the government in 2016 developed a Financial Inclusion Strategy and the objective was to achieve 90 percent financial inclusion by the year 2020.
He said the new product would not only reduce the cost of remittance to Ghana but provide ease and convenience in sending and receiving money from abroad.
The Director of Financial Sector Division stressed that the product would help the receivers of remittances to invest and save thefunds they receive through remittances.
He lamented that currently remittances were most used on recurrent expenditure instead of investment.
Mr Agligoh disclosed that cabinet had approved the Payment System and Services Bill and would soon be presented to Parliament for ratification.
The essence of the law is to promote a robust and vibrant Financial Technology and Mobile Money industries.
He also said a ‘cashlite’ policy had been developed and for the first time a Digital Financial Strategy was being developed to promote education and awareness creation on digital financial issues.
The Managing Director of Zeepay Ghana Limited, Andrew Takyi-Appiah said technology was democratising and promoting financial inclusion across the world.
He said his outfit started the development of the MoneyGram to Mobile Money five years ago to make it easy and cheap for Ghanaians to remit money home.
Mr Takyi-Appiah said the product would drive down the transaction cost of remitting money to Ghana from abroad.
For instance, he stated that it currently cost more than $7 to remit $200 to Ghana but with the partnership with MoneyGram it would cost$3 with MoneyGram irrespective of the amount and even nothing it was done through an online channel.
“With the partnership, Ghanaians abroad can send money home through mobile money,” Mr Takyi-Appiah said.
TheAfrica Head of MoneyGram, John Gely said his outfit was excited about the partnership with Zeepay Ghana Limited.
He said the partnership would promote competition in the remittance industry.
Mr Gely said Ghana in recent times was receiving more remittances than Foreign Direct Investment.
Thus, he stressed, there was the need to reduce the cost to attract more remittances into the country.
The Head of Anglophone West Africa of MoneyGram, Patrick Appiah said MoneyGram operated in more than 200 countries with 350,000 agents across the world.
He explained that MoneyGram had more than 2.4 billion virtual accounts and was adding about 11 million wallets to its accounts.
Mr Appian urged Ghanaians abroad to use the new product to send home at a cheaper cost, adding that remittances done online were free.
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