Digital payment platform Strike has announced it will partner with Bitnob to facilitate instant payments in Africa. The new development comes in the shape of Strike’s “Send Globally” feature, which enables a swift transfer of funds from the US to Africa at a low cost.
Strike CEO Jack Mallers made this disclosure, stating that the lack of innovation and high transaction fees has negatively affected cross-border transactions in developing parts of the world. Strike would curb this shortcoming with its new feature, enabling quick payments to Africa.
According to today’s announcement, the payment feature would only be available in three African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. Transactions involving funds remittance in Africa are on the high side, discouraging transfers from other parts of the world to Africa.
In 2020, the cost of remittance funds to Africa was an average of 8.97%, dropping from 9.25% the previous year. The current average rate of remittance in Africa is 7.8% as of May 2022. These high rates are significant contributing factors to reduced cross-border transactions in Africa.
Strike is a digital platform that enables fund transfers between users. It is built on the Bitcoin network and leverages its secondary layer, Lightning Network, to send and receive funds quickly and efficiently.
Strike Aims to Connect Africa to the World
Mallers stated the difficulty of African citizens living in the US “sending money home to their families.” He pointed out that Strike’s partnership with Bitnub will develop a transaction-free transfer platform to make this possible. Upon approval of the transaction, payments will be converted to naira, cedi, or shillings and sent directly to the recipient’s bank account, mobile money account, or Bitnob account.
Bitnob CEO Bernard Parah, in a press release, stated it aims to reduce pressure on financial institutions in Africa from USD liquidity sourcing and eliminate high transaction fees. This would drastically improve the current economic situation in Africa, which according to Parah, promotes unequal access to other people worldwide.
With a partnership with Bitnob in the bag, Strike is also poised to expand its payment services to Africa. The payments firm aims to partner with Chipper Cash to expand its African reach.
