KAMPALA, UGANDA – In a move set to revolutionize the way Ugandans living abroad send money back home, NALA, a leading provider of cross-border payments and B2B payment solutions, has launched its services in Uganda. The company has been granted a money remittance license by the Bank of Uganda, enabling it to offer fast, secure, and low-cost direct remittances to Uganda.
NALA’s entry into the Ugandan market is expected to bring significant benefits to the country’s diaspora community, who have long faced high fees and lengthy processing times when sending money back home. With NALA, Ugandans living abroad can now send money directly to mobile money wallets and bank accounts in Uganda, without incurring exorbitant fees.
“So for us, money remittances is volumes,” said Nikolai Eddy, NALA’s Chief Operating Officer. “We care about doing large volumes, and that’s what we hope to do here to Uganda. So for us, we make a very small markup on foreign exchange, and that’s how we make our money. So on small transactions, we won’t make money, and we’re okay with that, but for individuals who send larger amounts, that allows us to make some money and keep the operations alive.”
Eddy also highlighted Uganda’s large diaspora population and regulatory support as key factors in NALA’s decision to expand into the market. “Uganda is extremely important because there’s a great diaspora population that lives in the United States, Europe, and the UK, and those are the markets where we operate, where we hold licenses and we hold permissions to do money remittances. So Uganda is a very, very interesting market,” he said.
NALA has been given a Class A license by the Bank of Uganda, which allows them to provide cross-border money remittances. “This will enable Ugandans to receive money without physically visiting a counter,” said David Charles Nyende, representative from the Bank of Uganda.
Sophie Birungi, from the Diaspora Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlighted the challenges faced by diaspora members, including safety concerns and high fees when sending money back home. “Then we have cases of Ugandans outside who are unable to open accounts where to save their money, reason being most of them have overstayed their visa. Therefore, they end up saving their money in houses. And when police break into their houses, their money is taken,” she said.
Birungi also emphasized the need for more innovative solutions like NALA’s. “Now we have people who do mobile money in those countries, but I can tell you sending a mere Shs100,000 in Uganda here is very expensive. So we are encouraging other banks to try to design a product that will help Ugandans abroad to open accounts here, even when they are outside there,” she added.
