This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
On November 14, 2019, Equity Group announced that its diaspora remittance volumes had reached Sh100 billion in the nine months to September, a significant milestone in the lender's efforts to tap into the lucrative diaspora market.
According to Equity Group's CEO, James Mwangi, the lender's fintech partnerships have played a crucial role in driving the volume of remittances it handles. 'We were not greedy...it is not about how much we charge. Commissions are not the focus, but rather the focus is access to foreign exchange,' Mr Mwangi said during the lender's quarter three investor briefing.
Equity Group's diaspora remittance volumes grew by 28 percent compared to the same period in 2018, when the bank handled Sh79.8 billion. This growth has helped boost the lender's forex trading income to Sh2.84 billion in the period, accounting for 12.6 percent of its total non-funded income of Sh22.6 billion.
Kenya's diaspora remittances, as per Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data, stood at Sh215.6 billion in the nine months to September 2019, an increase of 4.4 percent from the same period in 2018. CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge has attributed the growth in remittances to better transmission channels, as more banks make use of fintech to facilitate the inward movement of cash.
Equity Group's dominance in the diaspora remittances market is expected to continue, with the lender's forex trading income on track to account for over half of the remittances coming into the country.
