Denis Opudo
SureRemit a Nigerian based startup has developed a crypto-token that will help in sending money back home to global immigrants. The startup is also operating in Mauritius, and it will partner with Stellar which operates in the blockchain. The company is connecting its crypto product which cants be exchanged by customers for cash to a network of pre-approved merchants in Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria. The company is looking forward to launching its operations in Middle-East in the second quarter of 2018.
Customers can use the app in paying for things like student tuition, utility bills, and online consumer goods. The company is a merchant partnership with African e-commerce firm Jumia. There will be no transfer or buying of tokens above the face value. SureRemit will generate revenue from businesses that pay a percentage in each token transaction, and later on, redeem the tokens for less cash from the company.
The fees will allow the company in fishing for a new pool of customers. The company charges low transaction fee compared to other money transmitters like MoneyGram and the Western Union. According to the World Bank statistics, more than 250 million global migrants transferred $601 billion to their homelands in 2016. More than a half $441 billion was directed to developing countries. $39 billion was taken to Sub-saharan Africa, $20 billion to Nigeria and $69 billion to India. On the other remittance companies, Sub-Saharan Africa pays the highest fee roughly 10% per $200 of any other region.
SureRemit aims at maximizing of the high charges by the other companies to get more customers. The crypto tokens are seen as less risky as compared to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This is because is not cash redeemable and tied to specific merchants. The high speed and lower cost of transferring money using the SureRemit tokens put it in front of other money remitters. The app guarantees zero-cost and high-velocity cross-border transactions which Bitcoin is currently not able to facilitate.
The SureRemit predecessor SureGifts already paved the way for the company by giving confidence to its clients. The SureGift customers buy digital shopping vouchers through e-mail or SMS and use them for payments at 300 partner merchants in Kenya, Rwanda, and Nigeria.
