African payments company and money transfer app NALA has officially launched in the European Union. The Tanzania-based company aims to improve the connection between the diaspora across Europe, the UK and the US and citizens of Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana.
Over a quarter of African migrants currently live somewhere in Europe. With large quantities of these people wanting to send money to friends and family in their home countries, NALA hopes to provide a better and cheaper money transfer option across the EU.
The launch adds 19 new European nations to NALA’s list of send markets. The NALA EU expansion also revealed integrations with both Apple and Google Pay. NALA also officially launched NALA For Business as part of the expansion, looking to help business owners spend less on fees with multi-country business accounts.
The money transfer company has already expanded from the UK to the USA earlier this year. The US launch saw six members from the Tanzanian parliament in New York City.
While the number of options to send money to Africa from abroad continues to grow, the continent has remained the most expensive place to send money. A World Bank estimation suggests that the average transfer fee to Africa sits at around nine per cent.
NALA explained at its EU launch that it is working to provide a fair and transparent service to greater empower people with better financial control. It cited hidden fees in other existing money transfer options as one reason more transparent services are required.
‘Building the payments company that Africans deserve’
Benjamin Fernandes, founder and CEO of NALA, explained the need for better service for the diaspora.
Fernandes commented: “The European economy is the third largest in the world, and home to more than a quarter of African migrants. At NALA, our mission is to financially empower Africans across the world. Launching in the EU significantly expands our reach and ability to meaningfully innovate in the African payments space.
“Payments companies have traditionally leaned on market expansion as a primary growth lever, causing them to pursue wider geographic reach rather than added value in their product. At NALA, we are laser-focused on building the payments company that Africans deserve. This has led us to dually push forward on product innovation, alongside market expansion.”
NALA already boasts a number of ex-Google and Monzo employees on its team. The company hopes that talented individuals can support it in its growth and scale payments across Africa.
