After months of documenting the everyday challenges faced by Africans sending money across borders, KiiBank has unveiled its biggest product update yet, introducing multi-currency accounts that allow customers to hold, receive, convert, send and spend money from a single platform.
For KiiBank founder and CEO, Dr Louis Anegekuh, the launch represents far more than the addition of new currencies.
According to him, the idea behind KiiBank was never simply to build another banking application.
“We weren’t trying to build another banking app. We were trying to solve a problem we had seen over and over again.”
For millions of Africans living abroad, supporting family members often involves navigating multiple financial services before money reaches its destination.
Users frequently move between their banking app, a separate remittance service, identity verification processes and payment confirmations before a transfer is completed. Even then, the transfer itself is often only the first step, with relatives still needing to pay school fees, hospital bills, utilities or other essential expenses.
Over recent months, KiiBank has highlighted many of these experiences through its “Pain Series”, a collection of stories inspired by situations commonly faced by members of the African diaspora.
The stories include a daughter struggling to restore electricity for her family after repeated card declines, a son searching desperately for his bank card while trying to pay for his mother’s hospital treatment, and customers being asked to contact their bank before being allowed to use their own money.
While fictionalised, the scenarios reflect real frustrations experienced by many people making cross-border payments.
“The stories were never really about technology,” said Dr Anegekuh.
“They were about people, and they reminded us every day why we started building KiiBank.”
The latest release introduces UK Pound Accounts and Personal Euro IBAN Accounts, allowing existing KiiBank customers to open local receiving accounts within minutes.
Customers receive their own UK account number and sort code, together with a personal Euro IBAN, enabling them to receive money as if they held local bank accounts in those markets.
The platform also enables customers to send money instantly from their KiiBank account to MTN Mobile Money, Orange Money in Cameroon, and bank accounts across Nigeria, bringing multiple payment capabilities together within a single application.
Rather than viewing the launch as the destination, Dr Anegekuh describes it as another milestone in a much larger journey.
“This is much more than adding new currencies.
“It’s another step towards the vision we’ve been building from the beginning: giving people one place to hold, receive, convert, send and spend money across borders.”
The company says further enhancements are already in development, including business accounts, additional currencies and expanded payment capabilities.
Dr Anegekuh also acknowledged the role customers have played in shaping the platform.
“Every comment, every suggestion and every piece of feedback has helped us improve KiiBank. This release reflects what we’ve learned from the people who use our platform every day.”
Existing customers can access the new functionality by updating the KiiBank app.
For many users, the launch marks more than a product update. It represents KiiBank’s continued effort to simplify cross-border banking for Africans at home and across the world.
For more information,
For more information, visit http://www.kiibank.io.