Thanks to the European Union, UNCDF under the GrEEn Project, will work with Zeepay Ghana to allow targeted communities in Ashanti and Western regions access innovative digital financial services and leverage remittances in a more affordable way.

The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly and is observed on 16 June. The IDFR recognizes more than 200 million migrant workers, women, and men, who send money home to over 800 million family members. This day further highlights the great resilience of migrant workers in the face of economic insecurities, natural and climate related disasters and a global pandemic. The IDFR is now globally recognized and is a key initiative, which urges the reduction of transfer costs and greater financial inclusion through remittances.

In Ghana, more than US$4 billion flows every year in remittances, as estimated by the World Bank, representing on average 6 percent of the GDP, while foreign aid contributes 4 percent. Many Ghanaian families depend on remittances from relatives living abroad to cater for various expenses including education, health, but also housing. Remittances therefore contribute significantly to the economic well-being of Ghanaians.

Despite the important role remittances play in the economy of Ghana, both senders and receivers of remittances face several challenges such as the high cost of transfers, unfavorable exchange rates, and strict financial regulations which limit the amount of money that can be sent via mobile money systems among others. For recipients of remittances living in remote and underserved communities in the country, access to the limited number of financial service providers offering remittance services severely limits their ability to receive funds from their relatives and friends abroad. For these reasons, formal channels of remittances remain inaccessible to both recipients and senders with many opting for informal, private, and unrecorded sources such as through friends and relatives, and in some cases migrants bringing money home themselves. By choosing informal methods, recipients and senders lose the chance to be part of the formal financial sector and the opportunity to play an important role in the development of their local economies.

These conditions are driving away the potential of remittances as an enabler of development at the local level. Starting from these market constraints that hinder the economic empowerment of marginalized groups in Ashanti and Western regions, UNCDF is leading the European Union’s efforts to make remittances available for youth, women and returning migrants in the targeted areas and build on those flows to grant access to remittance-linked financial services to pave the way for more inclusive formal financial ecosystems.

To commemorate IDFR 2021, UNCDF announces its partnership with Zeepay Ghana under the GrEEn Project to respond to these challenges and leverage the potential of remittances in Ashanti and Western regions. Zeepay is one of the fastest-growing fintechs in Ghana licensed by the Bank of Ghana as an e-money issuer focusing on building the digital rails to connect digital assets at the local level to international money transfer operators, payments, subscriptions, international airtime and refugee payments.

Under this partnership, Zeepay will increase access to and usage of digital financial services including remittance-linked services and microinsurance for youth, women, and returning migrants in Ashanti and Western regions. Zeepay will certainly create a new paradigm in the areas of intervention of the GrEEn project by creating sustainable jobs and expanding its network of agents in areas where access to financial services and remittances remain a challenge, especially for youth and women.

Through its Mobile for Development solution, Zeepay will offer a 3-in-1 bouquet of financial services aimed at 1) reaching underserved sections of the population 2) creating jobs and 3) promoting digital financial services. Zeepay will also offer financial literacy and training to targeted youth, women, and returning migrants as one of the ways of addressing the causes of irregular migration.

Under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, UNCDF aims to create dynamic financial ecosystems at the local level to support targeted groups in their journey towards economic independence. Key to the GrEEn project’s approach is innovation, technology and digitalization which have democratized access to financial and non-financial services. On IDFR 2021, UNCDF is looking forward to start working with Zeepay to launch a competitive and innovative financial solution in Ashanti and Western regions that will allow not only to use remittances in a more secure, affordable, and faster way, but also to build on those flows and help targeted groups as well as diaspora members in accessing additional financial services.

Download Zeepay's announcement below