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FlexiPay bets on Kenya’s Upesi to boost cross border transactions
FlexiPay users will have an opportunity to transact in 54 countries. Photo / File
What you need to know:
- Stanbic Bank says the partnership with Kenya's Upesi allows FlexiPay users to transact in more than 54 countries
Stanbic Bank has indicated that its digital payment and money transfer solution, FlexiPay, can now reach up to 54 countries after signing a partnership with Kenya’s remittance solution provider, Upesi Money Transfer.
The partnership, Stanbic says, will enable FlexiPay users to send and receive money as well as make payments in countries such Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania in East Africa and European and Middle East countries including France, Canada, Israel, South Korea, India, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Kuwait, Bahrain, Australia, and Poland, among others.
Speaking after signing the partnership in Kampala, Ms Jospehine Nakato Kasacca, the FlexiPay lead customer experience and operations officer, said the initiative seeks to fulfill Stanbic’s larger plan of enabling borderless financial transactions that are key in driving financial inclusion and economic growth, to a large extent.
Mr Julius Okwana, the Upesi country manager, said the partnership comes at a time when countries across Africa are seeking to achieve cashless economies, through the use of mobile money and other digital-based payment and money transfer solutions.
“Upesi currently has a presence in Kenya and Uganda. We are looking at entering Rwanda and Tanzania soon but currently, you will be able to send and receive money to about 54 countries all over the globe,” Okwana said.
Uganda and Kenya share some of the biggest diaspora, which makes the partnership ideal at a time when most companies are trying to leverage digital payments to reduce the cost of business.
However, the advent of digital transactions has exposed users to cybercrime, with many people losing huge sums of money to hackers.
But Mr Okwana said that whereas he concedes that “cybercrime is one of the biggest threats any company involved in money transactions can be worried about, we have several measures in place to protect both receiver and sender”.
