Ecobank Transnational, Inc. has partnered with Nium, a global leader in real-time cross-border payment infrastructure, to revolutionise cross-border payments for over 32 million customers across 35 African markets.
This collaboration aims to create a more efficient and faster payment experience for both consumers and businesses in the region.
Through this partnership, Ecobank will leverage Nium’s advanced payment infrastructure to enhance its existing banking operations, particularly benefiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By integrating Nium’s real-time capabilities into its Swift workflows, Ecobank can provide real-time transfers, updates, clearing, settlement, and payment tracking across 220 markets globally, including over 100 countries with real-time payment options.
Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration: “Partnering with Nium allows us to enhance our service offerings and provide our customers with faster, more efficient cross-border payment solutions.
This collaboration is a significant step towards advancing financial inclusion and connectivity across Africa and enabling businesses to thrive in a global marketplace.”
The integration of Nium’s technology will greatly reduce waiting times for cross-border payments, allowing African businesses to make rapid payments and access new international markets more seamlessly.
This efficiency is expected to benefit Ecobank’s regional customers by making transactions smoother and more accessible, ultimately strengthening SMEs’ ability to compete globally.
Anupam Pahuja, Executive Vice President for APAC, Middle East, and Africa at Nium, highlighted the importance of the partnership: “We are thrilled to partner with Ecobank and introduce Nium’s cutting-edge real-time payment capabilities to Africa. This collaboration represents an important step forward in expanding our global payments network, and we are proud to support Ecobank in delivering faster, more efficient payments for its customers across the region.”
Ecobank’s integration with Nium will also enable the bank to exchange its SwiftMT and ISO 20022 messages seamlessly on Nium’s real-time platform.
This integration will improve the speed, accuracy, and reliability of cross-border payments for African businesses, contributing to the bank’s mission of driving financial inclusion.
The partnership is aligned with Nium’s broader vision to democratise access to real-time payments worldwide, especially in regions where traditional banking systems are less efficient. By working with Nium, Ecobank aims to offer a superior cross-border payment experience to its customers, while Nium expands its global payments network and continues advancing financial accessibility across diverse markets.
