GulfAfrican Bank and WorldRemit's logos on a light blue background

Gulf African Bank Partners with WorldRemit for digital money transfers to Kenya

27/3/2019 | 3 minute read

New strategic partnership allows WorldRemit customers in over 50 countries to send money directly from their phones to over 100,000 Gulf African Bank customers

Nairobi and London, 27 March 2019: Leading digital money transfer company WorldRemit has joined forces with Gulf African Bank (GAB), Kenya’s premier shari’ah compliant bank, to facilitate diaspora remittances.  

Kenyans living in over 50 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, can now send money directly from their phones to 100,000 Gulf African Bank accounts and 18 cash pick-up locations at the bank’s branches nationwide.

WorldRemit saves customers time and money, enabling them to send vital funds home in a few taps from their phones without having to visit a brick and mortar agent. Customers sending to Kenya can choose from a variety of convenient payout options including bank transfer, cash pickup, mobile money and airtime top-up.

Gulf African Bank offers innovative financial solutions that address the needs of individuals and businesses as well as customers looking for fair, safe, and ethical banking practices based on Shari’ah principles. The Bank recently embarked on a digitisation agenda that will expand digital service offerings for customers, such as the introduction of paperless banking in all branches. Furthermore, it continuously taps into the intensity of globalisation to enable their customers in the diaspora, bank and invest back home easily from all over the globe.

With a diaspora of three million living in countries such as the US, UK and France, remittances play an increasingly important role in Kenya’s economy and are the country’s largest source of foreign exchange. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) estimates that remittances hit an all-time high of Sh197.12 billion ($1.95 billion) in 2017 - a 13 percent growth on the previous year.

Sharon Kinyanjui, Head of East and Central Africa at WorldRemit commented: WorldRemit is delighted to partner with key  financial institutions like Gulf African Bank to make it faster, simpler, and cheaper to receive money from around the world. GAB and WorldRemit share a commitment to trust and transparency, and our new service will offer convenience and choice to Kenyans in the diaspora. 

“We make sending money home as easy as sending an SMS. Over 90% of WorldRemit transactions are authorised within 10 minutes and customers can track their money’s journey in real-time using our ‘Track your Transfer’ function.”

Abadalla Abdulkhalik, Gulf African Bank’s Managing Director said: “To effectively serve our customers in this fast paced, modern business environment, Gulf African Bank has continued to keep pace with digital developments in order to unlock the full investment potential of our diaspora customers by partnering with like-minded partners like WorldRemit. We are offering our customers a safe, fast, secure and cost effective channel that will enable all our customers in the diaspora seamlessly transfer  funds to benefit their dependants and investments in Kenya anytime.

WorldRemit customers complete over 1.3 million transfers every month from over 50 countries to over 145 destinations.

Press Enquiries


media@worldremit.com

About WorldRemit

We are a leading global payments company and, along with Sendwave, part of Zepz, a group powering two global remittance brands. 

We disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by taking international money transfers online – making them safer, faster and lower cost. We currently operate in more than 5,000 money transfer corridors worldwide and as part of Zepz, are part of a 1,400 person global workforce.

Sending money with WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and enhancing security. For those receiving money, we offer a wide range of options, including bank transfer, cash pickup, airtime top up and mobile money. 

Backed by Accel, TCV and Leapfrog – WorldRemit’s headquarters are in London, United Kingdom, with regional offices in the United States, Poland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Somaliland, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Belgium.

About Zepz

Zepz Group is the group powering leading global remittance brands: WorldRemit and Sendwave. Since 2021, Zepz Group has been disrupting an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by reducing the barriers to finance and increasing safety and convenience for users. Every day, Zepz Group and its brands work towards unlocking the prosperity of cross-border communities through finance and technology - driven by the vision of a world that celebrates migrants’ impact on prosperity, at home and abroad.

Zepz Group brands have helped cross-border communities send over $15bn from 50 countries, to recipients in 130 countries in 2022, and operate over 5,000 money transfer corridors worldwide. Zepz Group employs over 1,400 people globally as a remote-first employer, with team members located across six continents.

A fast and secure way to send money on the go

Download our app for free to send money online in minutes to over 130 other countries. Track your payments and view your transfer history from anywhere.

Black and white Download on the App Store buttonBlack Google play store button
An image of an iPhone and Android smartphone with the WorldRemit app displayed on the screen