Grey adds four African markets to its cross-border payment network

Grey has added Rwanda, Cameroon, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire to the list of African markets where customers can send money through its platform. The Nigerian fintech is adding both bank accounts and mobile-money wallets as payout options, depending on the country.

It is a relatively simple change for a customer: send money through Grey and have it arrive in the local currency. The harder part sits behind the service, where Grey has to connect to the payment systems used in each market.

The four new routes are not the same

In Rwanda, Grey supports payments in Rwandan francs to personal and business bank accounts. The company lists a $1.30 fee and says transfers can take up to 24 hours. In Cameroon, customers can send Central African CFA francs to MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money. Grey lists a $1.80 fee and says the payments are near-instant. Senegal has more payout choices. Grey supports bank accounts as well as Wave, Orange, Free, Expresso, E-Money and Wizall Money.

In Côte d'Ivoire, payments can go to local bank accounts or wallets operated by MTN, Orange and Moov. Customers can fund the transfers from Grey balances in US dollars, euros or British pounds, with the payment converted into the recipient's local currency.

The local wallet can be as important as the bank

This is one of the practical issues with sending money around Africa. A payment service can have a good international transfer system, but it still needs somewhere local to send the money. In Cameroon, that means connecting to MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money. In Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, it means supporting several local wallets alongside banks.

For the person receiving the money, the useful part is being able to receive it through a service they already use. That can matter for small businesses too. A company does not necessarily want to send money to a supplier's bank account and then have the supplier move it again to a mobile wallet.

SMEs have plenty of reasons to send money abroad

African businesses do not need to be large exporters to have cross-border payments. A small company might use a freelancer in another country, buy software or services from an overseas supplier, pay for advertising or receive money from a customer elsewhere in Africa. The transaction might be relatively small. That is where transfer fees and foreign-exchange costs start to matter.

Grey's listed fees for the four new markets range from $1.30 to $3, depending on the destination and payout method. The exchange rate also affects the amount that eventually reaches the recipient. For a business sending a few hundred dollars, a small difference in fees or exchange rates is noticeable. 

Grey is adding to an already busy market 

Grey says its network now covers more than 170 destinations. It is competing with other fintechs, banks and mobile-money companies that already handle international payments. The competition is not particularly complicated from the customer's point of view. Can I send money where I need it? How much will it cost? When will the other person get it? And will they receive the money through a bank account or wallet they already use? Grey now has four more markets in which to answer those questions.

The new routes do not change how African businesses trade with one another. They simply give Grey customers another way to move the money involved in those transactions. For a small business, that can still be useful if the transfer is cheaper, quicker or less troublesome than the alternatives.