Stellar, Oradian Unleash Low-Cost Money Transfer for Rural Nigerians

On Tuesday, rural Nigerians gain access to something previously out of reach: affordable direct payments.

Until now, sending money home often involved delivering cash by hand or trusting a traveller or bus driver to deliver it.

With this new ability to transfer money at very low cost, rural communities have leapfrogged into the future.

Stellar.org, a Silicon Valley-based, non-profit foundation that supports a universal financial platform, and Oradian, a fintech company that provides core-banking software for local financial organizations in West Africa, on Tuesday at sixth mobile money expo 2016 in Lagos announced the launch of a low-cost live payment transfer network among microfinance organizations in Nigeria.

By integrating the open-source Stellar network into its core-banking software, Oradian has made low-cost payments available to a select set of its customers.

This network reaches a total of 200 branches and serves over 300,000 end clients (over 90% are women), mainly in rural areas across Nigeria. This network will continue to grow as more integrations are completed.

Moving money is notoriously difficult and particularly punishing for the poor. In Nigeria, a majority of the population is underbanked or unbanked.

Oradian’s innovative core-banking platform, Instafin, is used by microfinance institutions all over Nigeria.

By integrating the Stellar network, Oradian will enable two things. First, MFIs will be able to transfer money between their branches seamlessly. Second, MFI customers who are mainly based in rural areas will be able to send money to other MFI customers in distant villages or cities, in real time, by simply visiting their local MFI.

"We are delighted to be working with Stellar, as this supports our ambition to empower the delivery of financial services to the underserved. With Stellar's technology, we change the way money is being handled and transferred across geographies, in a secure, instant and cheap manner. This new disruptive service further proves that Oradian’s core-banking system is the leader in bringing new services to the underserved at scale, "said Antonio Separovic, managing director at Oradian.

“We’re beyond excited to be working with Oradian to launch the first live transfer network in Nigeria,” said Joyce Kim, executive director of Stellar.org. “With the Oradian integration, communities that primarily relied upon cash for money transfer in and out of their villages can now transfer money instantly and safely, regardless of their location. This is the first step towards creating a universal payment network for the unbanked, and brings us closer to fulfilling Stellar.org’s mission of using a universal platform to bring financial services to all.”

Stellar.org is a Silicon Valley based nonprofit organization that supports the Stellar network, a free, open-source network that connects diverse financial systems and lets anyone build low-cost financial services—payments, savings, loans, insurance—for their community.

The Stellar network enables money to move directly between people, companies and financial institutions as easily as email. This interconnectivity means more access for individuals, lower costs for banks, and more revenue for businesses.

Also, Oradian is a dedicated and passionate team of technologists, financial experts and economic development specialists who have developed Instafin, an award-winning core-banking platform enabling financial inclusion.

With a focus on West Africa, Oradian’s Instafin solves the very real challenges facing financial service providers at the base of the pyramid.

Instafin digitally connects financial institutions and individuals at the base of the pyramid with each other and the global economy.

Using the latest cloud-based technology, services and domain expertise, Oradian increases efficiency and effectiveness of financial intermediaries.

Later today, 3rd February, 2016 by 5.30PM WAT, Stellar.org team will be hosting an event at Co-Creation Hub Lagos to meet with developers who are implementing payments into their applications.