WorldRemits Fintech is transforming lives in rural Cameroon
By Imane Charioui, Director of Francophone Africa, WorldRemit
DOUALA, Cameroon, September 2, 2022,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- According to government data, about one in five Cameroonians live abroad1from where they regularly send money to their families back home for daily maintenance, education and development.
With the country receiving just over $334 million in personal remittances in 2020, the most recent year for assessment by the World Bank2There is no doubt that remittances play an important role in the economy.
But while the Cameroonian diaspora has long been willing to send money home, restrictions on withdrawal options and the slow speed of transfers were significant deterrents.
It was even more challenging to send money to the rural areas, which house 42% of the country’s population.3 Rural recipients were often required to travel many kilometers to nearby towns where they could access banks, the main collection points for many remittance services.
Access to remittances changed in 2016 when WorldRemit entered Cameroon, immediately establishing partnerships with existing businesses to rapidly increase its spread across the country.
In addition, WorldRemit supports direct transfers to mobile money wallets, enabling withdrawals at local mobile money agents, extending the reach of its services across the country.4
But the biggest impact has been on the speed of transactions, where transfers take just minutes to reach the recipient, a far cry from earlier, when it took days, sometimes weeks, to complete transactions.
With the increased speeds of WorldRemit’s various transfer options, Cameroonians in over 130 countries can5 can quickly respond to emergencies at home, including urgent medical bills and school fees.
Transfer costs on the platform are also among the lowest in the world, and as the company maintains transparency about its fees, recipients always receive the exact amount intended by the sender.
It is this impactful presence of WorldRemit in the lives of Cameroonians that has seen it grow exponentially over the past six years.
In fact, in 2022 a total of £75 million GBP was sent to Cameroon via WorldRemit6, fueled by the rapid uptake of digital money transfer technologies worldwide following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of WorldRemit.
Notes to editors:
- VOANews. Cameroon is courting potential diaspora investors, but faces mistrust of the government. June 2022
- The World Bank. Personal transfers, received (current US dollars) – Cameroon. 2020
- The World Bank. Rural population (% of total population) – Cameroon. 2021
- WorldRemit. Send mobile money transfers to Cameroon. 2022
- WorldRemit. A fast and secure way to send money on the go. 2022
- KBC. Kenya is one of our top 3 markets in Africa, says WorldRemit. June 2022
About WorldRemit
We are a leading global payments company and, together with Sendwave, part of Zepz, a group that operates two global payment brands.
We disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by bringing international money transfers online – making them safer, faster and cheaper. We currently send from 50 countries to recipients in 130 countries, operate in more than 5,000 remittance corridors worldwide and employ over 1,200 people globally.
On the sender side, WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and increasing security. For those receiving money, the company offers a wide range of options, including bank deposits, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up and mobile money.
Backed by Accel, TCV and Leapfrog – WorldRemit’s headquarters are in London, UK with regional offices in the US, Poland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, South Africa, Somaliland, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Belgium.
www.worldremit.com
Media contact
WorldRemit Press Office
[email protected]
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Source: African Media Agency (AMA)
