E-Financial
Africans Embrace Bitcoin to Send Money Abroad
Developing countries from Africa and Asia are rapidly adopting Bitcoin in a bid to circumvent steep bank charges when sending money abroad.
This is according to Bitcoin payment processor Bitwala which notes that when sending money abroad, local banks’ models favour corporate profit over people’s need and their own convenience over fast speeds.
Founded in 2012, Germany-based start-up Bitwala allows users to transfer euros over the Single Euro Payments Area payments using Bitcoin. Users must first download a Bitcoin wallet.
The start-up says for the majority of businesses and individuals in the developing world, foreign exchange remains a critical inhibitor to their success or sometimes access to basic food and medicine.
“While our early adopters have come from Europe and North America, more recently we have seen a steep adoption rate among users sending money to and from developing countries on the African and Asian continents,” says Jörg von Minkcwitz, CEO of Bitwala.
Transferring cash via a bank or money transfer operators like Western Union or MoneyGram can be costly. According to the Overseas Development Institute, the average charge to transfer $200 to Africa using traditional money transfer services is 12%.
Bitwala says in total, the number of sign-ups from developing countries is coming closer to those in the US and EU. Taken together, users from developing countries form approximately 30% of Bitwala’s new sign-ups globally.
“Our daily Web site visits also reflect this growing trend. Bitcoin users in North African countries are a growing proportion of Bitwala’s user base, making up 4.4% of visitors, up from historically 2% and surpassing Switzerland,” says Von Minkcwitz.
“Banks charge a lot of fees and manipulate currency exchange rates to their advantage, resulting in a huge cost to customers all over the world,” he notes.
According to Bitwala, at a cost of $4 billion per year, international transfers to Africa are the most expensive in the world. Furthermore, it notes, online and offline businesses continue to pay a steep price for transferring money abroad or even domestically as the majority of banks charge between 10%-19% on any transfers to, from and within African countries.
The start-up points out that while transferring money to South East Asia is cheaper than it is to Africa, banks and intermediaries doing so charge high enough fees that take away a significant amount of people’s hard-earned money.
“Let’s consider the case of Jane, a hypothetical expat in Berlin who relies on banks and money transfer services to support her parents living in Beijing. She sends €500 to them regularly each month. As a customer of one of the European leading banks, it costs her a total of €47.7 each month to make that transfer. Over a year, this number rises to more than €570. If she were sending €2 500 per month – it would cost Jane a total of €1 441 per year just in transfer fees,” Von Minkcwitz says.
He explains the recently leaked document from Santander, a major Spanish banking group, confirms the dangers of using banks.
In 2016, the bank made €585 million solely from international money transfers, making up 10% of all of its revenue. In addition to transfer fees, the bank also made another killing by controlling its foreign currency exchange which helped it earn €290 million, Von Minkcwitz says.
“Perhaps the most shocking part is that 80% of all global money transfers are still conducted via banks and conventional monetary transfer channels. Bitcoin offers a much more efficient method of sending money abroad. This is done by shortening the time involved in trade settlements and securing the best exchange rate.
“Most importantly, the strength of Bitcoin and the blockchain technology it relies on is that it allows you to send money across borders without paying the steep fees charged by traditional gatekeepers like Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria and others.”
Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) database expanded to 69.55 million as of July 5 2026 from 69.32 million in June 2026, according to latest data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
BVN is an 11-digit biometric identification system introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria and managed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) to secure customer accounts and reduce fraud.
This means that BVN enrolments increased by 228,947 between June and July 5 this year.
With the BVN database standing at 67.8 million as of December 31, 2025, it also means that the database grew by 1.75 million between the end of last year and July 5, 2026.
Specifically, with less than 1.8 million BVN enrolments so far recorded for this year, it is looking highly unlikely that BVN registrations at the end of 2026 will come close to the 4.3 million total registrations recorded in 2025.
Analysts note that while the expansion in the BVN database last year was largely driven by the introduction of the NonResident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative, which enables Nigerians in the diaspora to do their BVN enrolment remotely, thereby removing physical barriers and boosting cross-border financial engagement, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in March this year, announced a revised BVN regulatory framework, that saw it introducing stricter controls on suspected fraudulent transactions, BVN enrollment, and data access within the banking system.
According to the regulator, the amendments to the BVN framework, which came into effect on May 1, 2026, were aimed at strengthening fraud monitoring, improving identity management within the financial system and safeguarding the integrity of banking transactions, by strengthening identity verification and ensuring that BVN registration aligns with legally recognised age thresholds.
Thus, under the revised BVN framework, the apex bank introduced a stricter age requirement for BVN enrolment, limiting registration to 18-year-old individuals and above.
Also, under the new framework, customers will only be allowed to change the phone number associated with their BVN once. The CBN further stated: “Under the new guidelines, financial institutions are required to establish and maintain a temporary watch-list for BVNs linked to suspected fraudulent transactions reported within the banking system.
“A BVN may remain on this temporary Watch-list for a maximum period of twentyfour (24) hours, during which the BVN owner shall be contacted to provide clarification regarding the identified transaction(s).”
Launched on February 14, 2014, by the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, the NIBSS, and the German firm Dermalog, the BVN scheme was designed to capture the biometrics of all bank customers and provide each with a unique 11-digit identification number that can be verified across the Nigerian banking industry.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reaffirmed that the standard N100 banknote remains legal tender across the country, warning that its rejection by individuals, businesses and institutions violates the law.
The clarification follows reports that some members of the public have refused to accept the standard N100 note over concerns about its legal tender status following the introduction of the commemorative N100 banknote issued to mark Nigeria’s centenary.
In a statement signed by Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali, acting director of Corporate Communications, the apex bank stressed that “both the commemorative N100 banknote and the standard N100 banknote are valid legal tender and must be accepted for all transactions nationwide.”
The CBN explained that the commemorative N100 note was introduced to celebrate Nigeria’s centenary and did not replace the existing standard N100 banknote.
The CBN cautioned individuals, businesses, financial institutions and other economic agents against rejecting the standard N100 note, noting that such action contravenes the provisions of the CBN Act and undermines public confidence in the national currency.
It warned that appropriate enforcement measures would be taken against any person or organisation found violating the law.
The apex bank reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the integrity of the naira, maintaining confidence in all duly issued banknotes and ensuring the smooth circulation of currency across the country.
The CBN also urged members of the public to continue accepting and transacting with all banknotes legally issued by the Bank and advised anyone seeking further clarification to use its official communication channels.
FCMB Asset Management Limited (FCMBAM), the asset management arm of FCMB Group Plc, has received an upgrade to its national scale long-term and short-term issuer ratings of A(NG) and A1(NG), from A-(NG) and A2(NG), by GCR Ratings, a leading pan-African credit rating agency.
The outlook on the ratings remains stable, said the rating agency.
The upgrade is anchored on FCMBAM’s competitive resilience and financial discipline, alongside the strengthened credit profile of FCMB Group.
GCR highlighted FCMBAM’s decade-long track record of strong performance, well-established brand franchise, diversified product suite and robust distribution network as key drivers of its standalone strength.
These are further supported by consistent earnings growth and a disciplined, unleveraged balance sheet, it said.
According to GCR, FCMBAM’s competitive position is supported by “its relatively long track record, strong brand franchise, established product and geographical distribution network and cross-selling opportunities,” with the rating agency noting that FCMBAM ranks among the top five asset managers in Nigeria, with an estimated five per cent share of a fragmented market as of 31 December.
The Company’s financial performance underpinned the upgrade, with revenue growing by 30 per cent and operating cash flow increasing by 13 per cent, enabling the business to be fully funded without recourse to debt.
Liquidity strengthened further, with liquidity sources versus uses improving to 5x as of December 2025, from 3.6x a year earlier, while the EBITDA margin edged up to over 58 per cent.
Commenting on the upgrade, the Chief Executive Officer of FCMB Asset Management, James Ilori, said: “This upgrade is an important external validation of a strategy we have pursued with discipline over many years: building an investment franchise that performs reliably, governs itself rigorously, and earns trust in every market cycle. It speaks to the strength of our membership of FCMB Group and to a culture that holds itself to local and global standards of risk management and capital stewardship.
“As Nigeria’s asset management industry enters a new era of higher capital thresholds and rising investor expectations, we intend to lead from the front – ahead of regulatory timelines, ahead in digital transformation and ahead in the outcomes we deliver for the clients who trust us to assist them in achieving their investment objectives.”
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