Ecobank has signed an agreement with Jack Ma’s Alipay, months after reaching an agreement with Airtel Africa to offer its subscribers loan. The agreement with Alipay is a cross-border partnership that will link Ecobank’s Rapidtransfer to the 1.2 billion people currently being served by Alipay.
Rapidtransfer is Ecobank’s remittance payment system, and together with Alipay, Ecobank believes it will eliminate limit and further ease money transfer across-border, as well as improve financial inclusion in various markets.
This partnership will ensure Rapidtransfer is readily available for the 1.2 billion users of Alipay, providing additional options for the users, reduce transaction costs. The partnership is, however, subject to approvals from regulator.
Speaking on the partnership with Alipay, The Group Consumer Banking Head for Ecobank, Nana Abban, said, “Our panafrican cross-border remittance solution, Rapidtransfer, has over the years been delivering transparent, convenient, and affordable services to the African diaspora and their African-based dependants.
“So, it is a natural extension for us to use it to deliver the same advantages to migrant workers across Africa. Through our partnership with Alipay, we are further leveraging the scale and capacity of our unified payments ecosystem on the global stage.”
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Also, Alipay’s Head of global remittances business, Ma Zhiquo, said, “We are excited to partner with Ecobank and use our technology to bring fast, affordable, and convenient remittance services to more users globally, especially workers who are living far from working.”
He added that, “We are committed to working with partners such as Ecobank, using innovative technologies to help global consumers gain access to inclusive financial services, creating greater value for society and bringing equal opportunities to the world.”
Ecobank’s other partnership: Nairametrics had also reported that Airtel Africa partnered with Ecobank to offer its subscribers loan. The partnership between Airtel Africa and Ecobank is for the network provider’s Airtel Money service which the company is also planning to offer in Nigeria after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved the operation of the telecoms firm as a mobile money operator. MTN Nigeria has already started its Mobile Money service in Nigeria, called MoMo.
