On Tuesday, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a United Nations specialized agency, and Kenya’s Credit Bank inaugurated an inexpensive remittances scheme for rural people.
Credit Bank CEO Betty Korir told media in Nairobi that the project would use Credit Bank’s extensive network of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations in rural communities to make remittances more accessible at the lowest possible cost.
“The project will reduce the cost of remittances from the current 9 per cent to 2 per cent of the value of the money transferred to rural recipients,” Korir said.
She disclosed that the initiative offers a one-of-a-kind solution that encourages Kenyans all over the world to send money home while guaranteeing that the greatest possible share of this money reaches rural beneficiaries by lowering the number of intermediaries involved.
According to David Berno, remittances and inclusive digital finance officer at IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, the project will allow the European diaspora to send money directly to their loved ones via digital channels in real time.
Berno stated that the initiative provides a unique potential not just to provide remittance services to rural regions that are mainly underserved, but also to accelerate investments in productive companies or asset build-up.
UN agency, Kenyan bank launch affordable remittances project for Kenya’s rural families
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