During the first 6 months of 2019, Equity Bank’s share of diaspora payments grew by 28% to 66.6 billion Kenyan Shillings from 52.2 billion Kenyan Shillings.
News from Business Daily revealed that Equity Bank received more than 50% of all of Kenya’s diaspora remittances as a result of its fintech capabilities, which led to a significant increase in its remittances market share.
The bank has projected more growth in 2019, in the remittances market.
Diaspora commissions grew to 398 million Kenyan Shillings during the same 6 month period from 383 million Kenyan Shillings which was recorded during a similar period in 2018.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of Equity Group; James Mwangi, stated while releasing the results for the 6 months period, stated that the increase was a result of a strategic decision to make diaspora remittances much more affordable.
James Mwangi stated that, “The volume is growing at 28% and the commission is growing at 4%. This implies that we are taking advantage of the high volume to reduce and pass the benefits to the customer and making diaspora remittance much cheaper.”
Diaspora remittances in 2018 increased time 3, to a total figure of 108 billion Kenyan Shillings.
Income generated saw an increase of 169% as well, to 751 million Kenyan Shillings, as a result of an increase in strategic collaborations with payment partners which include Equity Direct, PayPal, Western Union, MoneyGram, Swift and Wave.
