Ghana has been put on the map again by PayAngel at the just-ended Innovations in Payments and Remittances (IPR) Awards 2022 in London.

PayAngel, Africa’s payment experts fended off TerraPay and MFS Africa, two of the biggest FinTechs in the payments and remittance space, to emerge victors in the Social Impact Award category.

The Innovations in Payments and Remittances (IPR) Awards is a celebration of the money transfer community and the achievements of the industry’s greatest achievers.

It recognises exceptional leadership and innovations by Money Transfer Operators (MTOs), FinTechs, Banks and Telcos in the demonstration of significant contributions to the Money transfer industry within the past five years.

The Social Impact Award was opened to all money service businesses that successfully embedded social objectives into their strategy and are making a substantial positive impact on financial inclusion or financial know-how of the customers.

The shortlisted finalists in the category were MFS Africa, TerraPay and PayAngel.

PayAngel was adjudged the eventual winner for the category for its innovations and contributions to the money transfer industry over the period.

The Head of Growth at PayAngel, Joseph Elvis Lamptey emphasised the company’s commitment to creating a positive impact through financial inclusion and payment innovations.

“Our social impact has not only been recognised by the IPR Awards but has also been recognised by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and European Union Trust Fund under the GrEEn Project, awarding PayAngel a grant of $140,000 to promote financial inclusion, create a wide network of entrepreneurs and facilitate access to financial services to the youth, women and returning migrants in the Ashanti and Western Regions through PayAngel’s Direct to Merchant Remittances (D2MR) solution,” he stated.

PayAngel provides cross-border payments which enable immigrants to participate in shaping the digital economic expansion of their home countries whilst positioning local businesses to capitalise on the cross-border commerce growth.

The CEO of PayInc Group, Jones Amegbor, in his comments about the award said, “we are thrilled to receive this award as proof of our socially responsive impact on the wellbeing of individuals who use our global multi-currency platform to send and receive international payments.”

He added that although PayAngel did not expect to win because of the size of companies they were up against, he is not surprised they won because by design PayAngel is built by Africans for Africans to alleviate the social problems Africans face in households, community, and national levels.

“We are absolutely committed to using our resources and talents to make positive changes within our communities. It’s a must and a duty and we owe it to ourselves and the generations after us.

"Coincidentally, our goals are in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals of reducing inequalities, poverty, and gender inequality whilst promoting decent work and economic growth as well as access to quality healthcare and education,” Jones Amegbor said.

This award is a confirmation that PayAngel is living up to its stated objectives. Over the years, the company has been instrumental in driving down the cost of remittances to Africa.

From the start, the company committed to the UN SDG target with a promise to reduce the transaction cost of remittances to less than 3%.

In echoes of the founding father of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the founder of PayAngel has been quoted as saying “we want the reduction in cost now, not in some distant future as suggested by the UN”. The company offers its customers the luxury of remitting at zero fees with highly competitive exchange rates.

In addition, as an industry first, PayAngel through its insurance partner, offers a unique value-added service – RemitCare; a life insurance solution to beneficiaries of its remittance service in Ghana.  

The innovations the company is driving in the industry and the impact on the lives of ordinary people within the community make PayAngel a deserving winner of the Social Impact Award.