Kenyan-based payment platform Tulix has launched a web app that targets diaspora customers to instantly pay to businesses in Kenya that accept mobile money. This comes after the successful launch of their mobile app in November 2022 that offers the same service.
The web app provides those in the diaspora with a way to finance everyday needs like shopping through local businesses for their friends and family back home. At this stage, those in the diaspora will have access to over 500 merchants/businesses that include supermarkets, petrol stations, hospitals, restaurants and construction material suppliers.
''The introduction of the web app is part of our strategy to offer our diaspora customers multiple ways to engage with our services. The release is informed by market research that points to the need to provide them with a version of the service that is easily accessible across all devices, "says Alistair Gould, Chief Operating Officer & Co-Founder.
The web app acts as a bridge in creating better financial relationships between those in the diaspora and their people back home. Both parties retain financial autonomy as the sender decides the merchant category and budget allocated for it and the recipient makes the actual purchase of goods and services.
To access the service, diaspora customers must sign up to the platform by providing key registration details. Once registered, they will select the merchant category, amount and complete the transaction. The recipient will receive an SMS alert providing the details of the merchant selected and the amount. This SMS acts as a multiple-use voucher which allows the recipient to make numerous purchases with the budget allocated by the sender in one transaction.
The launch of the web app comes at a time when the Central Bank of Kenya noted that diaspora remittances are now Kenya's highest foreign exchange earner. Kenyans living abroad sent home a record of KES498.8 billion last year, as per official data marking an 8.34% increase.
"Tulix has been developing this revolutionary service since the company's inception and is now ready to share it with the world. We are happy to offer a solution that helps our customers cultivate healthy money relationships with themselves and others,'' concludes Brian Muriu, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder.
Tulix works with regulated and licensed institutions to ensure the necessary safeguards are in place to guarantee the safety of users' funds at all times.