Africas leading resource for digital financial services
Nigeria
African chat app announces remittance feature
BeepTool, the Nigerian internet communications firm, has launched a new service that allows Nigerian breadwinners abroad to play an active role in managing the finances of their families back home.
In addition to placing free calls and sending remittances, Nigerians abroad can now use BeepTool to directly pay their families’ bills and load their mobile phones with prepaid credit.
CEO and co-founder John Enoh says this targeted remittance service will safeguard against possible misuse of remittances, a common problem encountered by Nigerian immigrant workers who are the main source of income for their families.
"One of the big struggles today in Nigerians' personal finances is reckless spending. BeepTool’s aim with targeted remittances is to eliminate the worries of our Nigerian immigrant workers, who are often more financially literate than their families back home,” Enoh says.
Remittances worth about US$21 billion flow into Nigeria via banks and money transfer services annually. These have been a crucial lifeline for Nigerian families. Most Nigerians allocate the remittances for food and other basic household needs, followed by school tuition, medical expenses and debt payments.
BeepTool allows customers to pay electricity, telephone, internet, cable, water and gas bills from their mobile phone, tablet or computer. Families may opt to receive remittances from BeepTool through bank deposits, pick-up at partner retail centers or door-to-door delivery.
BeepTool eliminates numerous hops in the global transfer of money, passing significant savings on to consumers compared with multinational companies like Western Union and banks, which extract hefty fees.
Between these savings and the savings BeepTool offers on international calling, BeepTool has become an invaluable resource for families with loved ones abroad. By putting more money in the pockets of ordinary Nigerians, the locally based firm has positioned itself to become a vital driver of the national economy.
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