Remittance and Mobilemoney Stakeholders Gather in Nigeria to Discuss ‘Lowering Transaction Cost’

More than 250 delegates from over 25 countries are expected for the 6th remittance and mobilemoney expo to be held in Nigeria, Africa’s largest remittance recipient nation on Feb 02 – 03, 2016 to discuss issues around lowering remittance transaction cost.

Africa pays nearly $2bn a year due to the higher-than-average cost of sending money to the continent with average cost to transfer money to sub-Saharan Africa at about 12 per cent, compared with a global average of 7.2 per cent according to the Overseas Development Institute, a UK think-tank.

The formal market for international and cross border money transfer to Africa is still young and faces typical emerging market challenges when compared to more established markets. A competitive market space is required to foster technology innovation, access and drive the expansion necessary to reduce cost and reach underserved areas. 

According to the event director at MobileMoneyAfrica,Emmanuel Okoegwale, ‘Africa has made great strides in mobile technology adoption and penetration; however, despite the pervasive coverage of such mobile networks across Africa, technological innovation has yet to drive down costs in Africa’s remittance markets’.

Remittance providers and stakeholders such as money transfer operators, financial services providers, financial technology providers, vendors, agent network operators, mobile financial services providers, regulators and stakeholders from the supply and demand side of the remittance industry will be meeting at the event to address lowering transaction cost by leveraging new innovations in the African mobile financial services ecosystem.

The barriers to cost-reduction, challenges and opportunities in the African remittance market, improving efficiency at the last mile, the role of non- bank financial institutions and the emergence of digital remittances such as mobile money, online transfers and crypto currencies in lowering remittance cost for Africans are some of the subject matter areas to be considered at the conference that will be held at the prestigious Lagos Oriental hotel, Nigeria in February 2016.

Early registration still on at  MobileMoneyExpo.com