XTransfer, a Chinese cross-border trade payment platform, and Ecobank Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation (MOU) last week to provide cross-border financial services to Africa’s small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) engaged in foreign trade.
Ecobank stated in a statement that the agreement will facilitate trade between China and African countries.
In recent years, China and Africa have deepened trade relations, with imports and exports significantly increasing, according to the pan-African bank.
“Despite this growth, African SMEs engaged in foreign trade face numerous challenges related to cross-border payments and fund collections. These challenges include difficulties in opening accounts with traditional banks, a high risk of funds being frozen, difficulties in foreign exchange and related losses, lengthy remittance times and high remittance costs,” said Ecobank.
As a result, Ecobank said its partnership with XTransfer will foster collaboration between both parties to provide comprehensive cross-border payment solutions for African SMEs’ foreign trade.
Further, the bank said XTransfer will leverage Ecobank’s extensive network across Africa, enabling its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies while assisting African SMEs in making payments in their local currencies to negate foreign exchange issues.
Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, commented: “This partnership builds on our established strategy, which includes a representative office in China and a dedicated China desk.
“By integrating XTransfer’s cutting-edge solutions with our pan-African payment platform, we simplify payments, reduce transaction costs, and enable African businesses to thrive in global trade.”
While, Bill Deng, founder and CEO XTransfer, said: “This collaboration represents a significant milestone for XTransfer and greatly enhances our global payment capabilities. Leveraging Ecobank’s extensive payment network in Africa will accelerate our business expansion in the region.
“We are looking forward to the synergies and opportunities this partnership will create. Together, we will drive innovation and improve the financial landscape, making financial services more efficient and accessible for African SMEs.”
Source: extensia.tech
