The Nigerian neobank Kuda is opening in the United Kingdom to reduce remittance fees for expatriates transferring money back home.
Kuda, which secured $55 million in Series B investment last year, is entering the UK market with a flat charge of £3 and a transfer cap of £10,000.
With over £3 billion transmitted annually from the UK to Nigeria at an average transaction cost of 8%, Kuda claims it would save UK Nigerians millions of pounds.
Kuda has partnered with Modulr, an integrated payments platform, to provide a mobile wallet, virtual and real cards, local UK transfers, and direct debits. The app is also backed by TellMoney, which assists Kuda in meeting Modulr’s standards for open banking.
Commenting on the launch of the UK app, CEO and co-founder Babs Ogundeyi says: “Africans in the UK are faced with barrier after barrier when it comes to financial services – from challenges setting up accounts to prohibitive and inconsistent fees on meaningful transfers. They are forced to limit each transfer to a few hundred pounds to avoid losing money or face escalating exchange rates with bigger transfers.”
The Kuda app will be accessible on iOS, Android, and the web, and will first enable remittance from the United Kingdom to Nigeria, with hopes to extend to additional African nations in the near future.
