Kenyans living in the US stand to gain from a new banking product that allows users to earn interest and pay reduced fees on international remittances. The new product dubbed Sendwave Pay was recently launched by digital remittance company Sendwave. The new solution provides existing Sendwave users access to a FDIC-insured bank account with an accompanying debit card. This makes Sendwave the only major remittance provider with such an offering in the US.
Sendwave Pay, which is available to users via the Sendwave app on iOS and Android, has the following features:
- A bank account with no hidden account creation, maintenance or minimum balance fees
- Access to up to 0.4% improvement on exchange rates and up to 25% savings on transaction fees on remittances to Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, and Liberia when using the funds in their accounts.
- A Sendwave Pay debit card to use on every day transactions;
- Reimbursements for international transaction fees when using their Sendwave Pay debit card outside of the US;
- Earn up to 0.51% APY on the money held in their Sendwave Pay account
For migrants, opening a bank account is considered an important step to establishing themselves and helps to achieve financial autonomy. Sendwave Pay is the first neobank offering within Zepz, the Group powering global remittance brands Sendwave and WorldRemit. Zepz intends to continually invest in migrant-focused financial offerings around the world, including Kenya.
Eric Huynh, Product Lead, Sendwave Pay, Zepz said: “The way that people use and access money has drastically changed over the last decade. We created Sendwave Pay to better meet the needs of our customers, who are dynamically considering how they manage their money both for themselves and for loved ones abroad.”
Zepz’s launch of Sendwave Pay comes amid an economic slowdown and higher borrowing costs in the US, which is the leading source of remittances to Kenya. Kenyans living in the US sent a total of $2.33 billion back home in 2022, representing more than half of the total $4.02 billion of diaspora remittances in 2022, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya. (CBK).
Sendwave’s mission is to make sending money as easy and affordable as sending a text. Our app sends transfers securely from North America and Europe to Africa, Asia and the Americas. Sendwave is committed to reaching more people around the world, which is why we created Sendwave Pay, a unique neobank product available to select Sendwave customers based in the US. With Sendwave Pay, users have access to better rates and lower fees on all remittances from the US to Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Liberia. Financial inclusivity is a pillar of our brand, and Sendwave Pay is a key product in our portfolio that enables users to earn up to interest monthly on the monies held in their Sendwave Pay account. We believe in borderless access to funds, so users can benefit from reimbursements for international charges when using their Sendwave Pay debit card outside of the US.
Sendwave Pay is designed to help immigrants build wealth that they can access across borders. It is the first neobank offering within Zepz, the Group powering global remittance brands WorldRemit and SendWave. Sendwave is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by Piermont Bank; Member FDIC.
Zepz Group is the group powering major 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.
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