Pioneering cross border payments in Africa
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The payments, banking and financial services sectors are undergoing an unprecedented period of disruption and change. In an ever-evolving reality, collaboration is the key to survival…especially when we look at cross border transactions as Africa opens up via the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Unfortunately, there are still many payment corridors all over the world which face incredibly high costs and considerable delays. A recent report by the World Bank provides an example from East Africa where, in 2021, the fee for sending 200 dollars in remittances from Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda was 23 percent for a Ugandan migrant. I cannot begin to imagine giving up nearly a quarter of my income every month just to send that money home to my family.
It costs 13% of a transaction to remit money from South Africa to another country, more than double the average of the Group of 20 (G20) leading global economies, according to a 2021 World Bank report.
But barriers like these are the reality for many people. And it is not just the cost of cross-border payments. These type of payments are often also slow and not transparent – and then there's the fact that they are not fully accessible for all.
So what is being done to solve the challenges?
Let’s welcome our panel to find out Ruhling Herbst, acting Executive Head Africa Business Development at BankservAfrica; Alastair Tempest, CEO of EFSA (ECommerce Forum of SA) & Karen Nadasen, CEO of PayU South Africa
Unfortunately, there are still many payment corridors all over the world which face incredibly high costs and considerable delays. A recent report by the World Bank provides an example from East Africa where, in 2021, the fee for sending 200 dollars in remittances from Tanzania to neighbouring Uganda was 23 percent for a Ugandan migrant. I cannot begin to imagine giving up nearly a quarter of my income every month just to send that money home to my family.
It costs 13% of a transaction to remit money from South Africa to another country, more than double the average of the Group of 20 (G20) leading global economies, according to a 2021 World Bank report.
But barriers like these are the reality for many people. And it is not just the cost of cross-border payments. These type of payments are often also slow and not transparent – and then there's the fact that they are not fully accessible for all.
So what is being done to solve the challenges?
Let’s welcome our panel to find out Ruhling Herbst, acting Executive Head Africa Business Development at BankservAfrica; Alastair Tempest, CEO of EFSA (ECommerce Forum of SA) & Karen Nadasen, CEO of PayU South Africa
