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Credit Bank plc has entered into a partnership deal with the Kenya Diaspora Alliance through which the bank will provide a bouquet of solutions in order to empower Kenyans living abroad to invest back home, safely and confidently.

According to the latest Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data, remittances by Kenyans living abroad rose by 20.3 per cent in the 12 months which led up July 2021. This amounted to Sh376.5 billion as compared to Sh317.2 billion in the preceding 12 months to July 2020 with North America, and the United States of America, in particular, making for the largest source and accounting for 58.3 per cent of remittance inflows into Kenya.

Credit Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Betty Korir, noted that remittances from the diaspora have grown exponentially over the years, overtaking global investors through their direct impacts on local investments. Ms. Korir attributed this to the tremendous shift towards digital transformation within the financial sector.

She added that, “The daggers have been drawn and the battlefield for customers in the banking sector is now being fought on the digital front. Thanks to advancement in technology, consumer preference keeps on changing as does the need for us to transform, digitally, by offering solutions which address all our customers. As Kenyans living abroad continue to invest locally, we seek to provide a seamless process, thus enhancing the customer experience and becoming the go-to bank when it comes to international money remittances.”

The Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) and its precursors were instrumental in introducing and popularizing technology, notably information technology (IT) and the Internet, in particular, not just in Kenya, but in Sub-Sahara Africa as a whole.

Dr. Shem Ochuodho, Global Chairperson of the Kenya Diaspora Alliance, had this to say, “I am delighted to seal this partnership today. It heralds yet another milestone, exactly 25 years since the internet was unveiled in this country. The diaspora has undoubtedly become the new Sherriff in town, as the highest foreign exchange earner for the country.”