JNMS targets Ghana for remittances

Targeting some one million Ghanaians resident in the United Kingdom, JN Money Services Limited (JNMS) has officially launched its Ghana Money Transfer brand.

The remittance service which began in April 2009 is expected to make inroads into remittances between the UK and Ghana, which amounted to US$1.79 billion in 2009.

Earl Jarrett, general manager of the Jamaica National Building Society, the parent of JNMS, says the group sees good room for growth in the target market.

"Ghana has a population of 24 million with a diaspora population of some four million who remitted approximately US$1.79 billion to Ghana in 2009. Compare this with a Jamaican population of 2.8 million and a corresponding diaspora that sends home approximately US$2 billion of remittances annually," said Jarrett in a company-issued release.

"It is clear that there is an opportunity for the Ghanaian diaspora of some one million persons here in the UK to grow the Ghanaian remittance numbers," he said.

JNMS is partnering with the Merchant Bank of Ghana to build out the money transfer network.

No information on sales for the two-year-old operation was forthcoming from JN.

remittances falling

The investment is being made at a time when remittances to individuals in Ghana through remittance agencies have been reportedly falling, with Ghanaians living abroad turning increasingly to electronic cards. Ghanaian business sites - http://news.myjoyonline.com/business and http://business.thinkghana.com/finance - report a two per cent fall in remittances going to individuals in 2010 for this reason, as well as the global financial crisis.

Money transfer agencies charge US$10-US$17 on average to transfer money to Ghana, while it costs US$2 for transactions using the electronic Visa card, the sites report.

For first quarter 2011, fees for money transfers from UK to Ghana are recorded by the World Bank as ranging from US$3 per transaction charged by MoneyXPress to US$17 charged by Western Union. No information on fees charged by JN was available.

austanny@yahoo.com