KCB and TerraPay partner to enhance cross border remittances

By Edlyn Cardoza

KCB Bank Kenya’s customers now have an opportunity to seamlessly receive funds from the diaspora to their accounts in Kenya, powered by a partnership with Mobex (an affiliate company of TerraPay Group, a UK-headquartered digital payments infrastructure and solutions provider).

With TerraPay onboard, KCB Bank seeks to fortify its position as a key player in strengthening the global payments ecosystem by giving its customers access to simple, competitive, and faster services leveraging the growing demand for digital channels.

Speaking on the announcement, KCB Bank Director of Retail Banking, Annastacia Kimtai, said, “We are reaffirming our commitment to harness technology and strategic partnerships in ensuring that our customers continue to enjoy the freedom of modern banking. What we are doing is we are utilizing fintech capabilities to build linkages and strategic partnerships with like-minded partners to ensure that our customers have access to top-of-class remittance services.”

The Bank has been at the forefront of actively championing and accelerating financial inclusion through leveraging collaborations with FinTech institutions to become a significant processor of remittances and payments worldwide.

Founder and CEO of TerraPay, Ambar Sur, said, “This is an exciting time for cross-border payments. We have no doubt that this new partnership with KCB Bank will help us remove the barriers around cross-border money transfers through seamless, secure, and real-time payments across Africa and Asia.”

Data from the Central Bank of Kenya indicates that remittance inflows into Kenya grew by 13.2% year-on-year as of September 2022 from $ 3.5 billion (Kshs. 427 billion) in 2021 to $4 billion (Kshs. 484 billion). This was accelerated by advances in technological innovations that helped people overcome the economic struggles brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

KCB Bank Kenya Limited is the largest commercial bank in the country. A subsidiary of KCB Group Plc, the Bank has the largest branch network, with over 200 branches, 367 ATMs and 16,000 agents offering banking services on a 24/7 basis in East Africa. This is complemented by mobile banking and internet banking services.