In a major stride towards empowering the African diaspora community, Swiss fintech pioneer, Centi, and leading global digital cash wallet, Centbee (www.Centbee.com), announced today at the London Blockchain Conference that they have joined forces to redefine remittance services from Switzerland to Africa. Deploying advanced blockchain technology, this partnership is poised to make cross-border money transfers more streamlined, cost-effective and inclusive.
Remittances are the financial backbone for many African households, with Switzerland’s sizable diaspora community playing a significant role. According to the World Bank, in 2020 remittances from Switzerland to foreign countries surpassed $8.2 billion, with a substantial portion dedicated to African countries.
Traditionally, remittances rely heavily on bank transfers and credit cards, creating challenges for the unbanked and underbanked communities in Europe. Addressing this critical issue, Centi has developed a unique cash on-ramp feature, whilst Centbee offers off-ramps in various African countries including Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda. This synergy promises to enhance financial inclusion significantly.
Preliminary tests indicate that sending CHF 50 in cash to Ghana using Centi and Centbee’s combined service could be 85% cheaper than the market leader. This translates to recipients getting up to 30% more cash-in-hand based on the same CHF 50 sent from Switzerland. This revolutionary model could pose a formidable challenge to traditional high-fee remittance service providers.
The partnership is also eyeing greater savings potential by leveraging Centi’s ground-breaking blockchain technology combined with a unique, Swiss bank-guaranteed stablecoin, alongside Centbee’s user-friendly digital cash wallet and extensive knowledge of the African market. This union is expected to bring about a marked improvement in remittance services, providing much-needed financial relief to families and communities in Africa.
Bernhard Müller, CEO of Centi, underscores the vision driving this partnership: “Our collaboration with Centbee is rooted in a shared commitment to making financial services more accessible and affordable for underbanked communities. Together, we aim to challenge and transform the remittance landscape.”
Echoing this sentiment, Lorien Gamaroff, CEO of Centbee, adds: “Our partnership with Centi, a frontrunner in digital payments, aligns seamlessly with our mission to make digital cash accessible to everyone. We are confident this partnership will bring significant benefits to our users and the wider African community.”
This collaboration between Centi and Centbee showcases the transformative potential of blockchain technology to revolutionise global remittance services. By making these services more affordable and accessible, we move one step closer to financial inclusion for all in Africa.