BitPesa, a digital treasury management service that uses the Bitcoin blockchain, has teamed with Japan’s largest money transfer provider, to make it easier for those in Africa to buy Japanese goods.
 
The agreement between BitPesa and SBI Remit announced on Monday enables customers in countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Morocco, amongst others, to deposit funds in their local currency directly into BitPesa’s local bank account.
 
Elizabeth Rossiello, founder and CEO of Kenya-based Bitpesa, told CCN: “They don’t need to do any conversion. Our fees are much lower than most banks’ transfer fees.”
 
In addition, the transfer occurs significantly quicker than the two weeks it would take most banks.
 
“Using SBI Remit’s payout network, we transfer the money to SBI Remit, and they can pay out to their large Japanese network…There is a flow of funds by Africans to Japan.”
 
According to a report in Forbes, “The average remittance fees for this process can reach about 7% of the amount moved according to World Bank estimates, but the cost can also be much higher.
 
“By removing the correspondent banks and secondary currency exchanges from the process, Bitpesa is able to provide similar services for about 3% of the total transaction.”
 
The alliance between these two firms meets a growing demand from Japanese businesses to enter the African market.
 
There are more than 400 registered Japanese businesses already active in Africa, including cosmetics, electronics, heavy machinery and used cars, according to Rosseillo.
 
She noted: “They need a more seamless way for the African customer to be able to pay them directly.
 
“While there is a growing interest in Africa, there is still a lot of hesitation due to market conditions and lack of hybrid financial infrastructure to support agile growth of businesses.”
 
“Through our partnership with SBI Remit, we have created a secure, fast and easy-to-use forex solution for Japanese companies to buy and sell eight frontier market currencies with G20 currencies including Japanese yen. Businesses can do this instantly from and to all major African bank and mobile money accounts.”
 
In a tweet on Tuesday morning, deVere Group’s founder and CEO, Nigel Green, a high profile crypto and blockchain enthusiast, echoed the Forbes article’s headline, describing this partnership as a “Bitcoin breakthrough.”