Okapi Finance, a Swedish money remittance and payment services firm with operations in Africa has partnered Ecobank, to enable customers of the two institutions transfer cash from Okapi wallet to Ecobank account and vice-versa at no cost. The partnership will also enable customers move cash to local banks in Kenya through their Okapi wallet or Ecobank’s Xpress account, a virtual account hosted on the Okapi wallet. The deal will see Okapi customers be able to have a bank account and save and have access to a bank account through the Okapi app. All they have to do is to join Okapi to have their Ecobank Xpress account activated. According to Gisele Mwepu, Chief Executive Officer of Okapi Finance, ‘We are pleased to enter a partnership with Ecobank. Ecobank, being the Pan Africa bank with operations in 33 countries across Africa, is a great partner for Okapi towards achieving its twin goals of promoting financial inclusion across Africa and creating a connected financial sector. I believe that interoperability between solutions in Africa is the key to achieving financial inclusion and to facilitate transactions between different countries in Africa.’’ Okapi customers are able to do transfers, payments, pay their insurance premium. Customers can also move money between Okapi and Visa as well as Visa card to card in real-time.Okapi services are accessible through authorized agents, Okapi website or Okapi Mobile Apps. Ecobank Kenya’s Managing Director and Regional Executive for Central, Eastern and Southern Africa Sam Adjei said, “Partnering with Okapi will enable us scale up business touch points in addition to engendering financial inclusion which is a key proposition under our digitisation agenda. This partnership is already bearing some positive impact where people in some informal settlements in Nairobi are able to transfer money and make payments conveniently, and at a reduced cost, in order to access basic hygiene services among other things.”
