expressPay Ghana launches Bank Direct Service with Visa
Ghanaian financial technology company, expressPay, has announced the launch of an industry-first instant money transfer service in collaboration with Visa and local commercial banks. Dubbed, Bank Direct, the service enables consumers to instantly send and receive money into their bank accounts from any Visa cardholder or mobile money wallet.
First of its kind in West Africa, expressPay’s Bank Direct was launched at an event graced by dignitaries, executives of the banking, finance and mobile technology industries. The service is expected to significantly change the mobile payments landscape by uniting traditional banking with mobile finance to the benefit of consumers.
“Bank Direct effectively eliminates the need to travel to one’s bank to transfer or receive money. Ghanaians can simply transfer money from their bank accounts or mobile money wallets to any bank account with an associated Visa card. It is a convenient, seamless and secure way to send money to friends and family anywhere in Ghana and can be accessed from the comfort of your home or office,” said Curtis Vanderpuije, CEO of expressPay.
“With a substantial proportion of the Ghanaian population unbanked, Bank Direct will foster financial inclusion, while capturing the informal economy, and enabling a cash-lite, and more money-efficient society. The service improves existing systems through interoperability while streamlining processes to use mobile money to connect with money in bank accounts. We are proud to work with Visa to make this revolutionary service possible,” Mr Vanderpuije added.
expressPay’s Bank Direct is the result of local innovation and global capability as the international payments gateway giant, Visa lent its full support to make the service a reality.
Speaking on the functionality of the expressPay Bank Direct initiative Ade Ashaye, Country Manager for Visa in West Africa, stated that BankDirect makes for seamless peer to peer money transfers. “Funds that are transferred via the Bank Direct service will be deposited directly into the recipients’ bank account and can be accessed through branded point-of sale terminals, ATMs and e-commerce merchants. Funds will also be available through other banking channels such as online banking, mobile banking, agents and branches’’.
“Bank Direct is a cost effective, fast and convenient way of transferring money. The service also brings the advantages of Visa’s global network - security, reliability and global acceptance. It also eliminates the long forms, complex routing numbers waiting time associated with conventional fund transfers,” Ashaye concluded.
How Bank Direct works
People can send money and receive from one bank account to another directly from their phone or computer by downloading the expressPay app (www.expresspaygh.com/app) on Google Play Store or the Apple Store.
To send with Bank Direct:
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Login to expressPay or sign up if you don’t already have an account
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Select Bank Direct from the “Send money” category
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Enter recipient’s phone number and click “Pay” to send
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The recipient instantly receives transfer confirmation!
To receive with Bank Direct:
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Click the link in SMS notification received with details of the transfer
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Enter your Visa card number to link your phone number with your card
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The money instantly hits your bank account!
