By: Foday Manneh
The Nafa Financial Service has launched a new mobile digital wallet called “My Nafa Wallet,” which enables customers to pay bills and make other financial transactions in a reliable, affordable, and accessible way.
The launching held at the Cocoa Ocean on Saturday, January 7, 2023, brought together partners and customers in a colorful event unveiling the new innovative digital wallet set to transform and ease financial transactions.
The proprietor and Chief Executive Officer of Nafa, Halimatou Jallow, said her institution is motivated by changes emanating from the remittance industry thanks to digitalization and their mission to increase financial inclusion, especially among the unbanked population.
“Mobile money is becoming the preferred medium for financial transactions globally. It has become an important enabler for financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.
“My Nafa Wallet deals with the latest technology in free trade and is equipped with the highest form of security available in the industry today,” she added.
The “My Nafa Wallet” is available on iOS and Android and can be downloaded for free.
The registration to the wallet is simplified for all categories of users and is linked to the Nafa convo platform, which is independent of all mobile networks in The Gambia.
“Customers can register with their full names and locally registered phone number, which will serve as their account number to the wallet,” Halima outlined.
The “My Nafa Wallet” has a wide range of products and services meant to ease financial transactions and payments of essential goods and services, such as bills, sending and receiving money, buying transferable credits, and cash power, among others, making them accessible for customers.
The new NAFA wallet also enables sending and receiving of money from 16 West African countries, namely; Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, and Mauritania, as well as from Europe and the United States.
The Association of Licensed Forex Bureaus President, Louis Sarkis, commended Halimatou and her team for developing the innovative “My Nafa Wallet.”
“This is a milestone achievement for the company in the digitalization era, which will enhance the reach of efficient financial services to the Gambian population,” Louis said.
“These achievements create better shredding in their business model and can enhance further growth and control over their operations,” he added.
The Managing Director of Access Bank and a key NAFA partner, Steven Albeit, forecasted the “My Nafa Wallet” as the next big thing in The Gambia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Buwa Saidy, who delivered the keynote speech at the launch, stated that the wallet is in line with the central bank’s goal to enhance access to finance and digitalization of financial systems.
Established in 2014, Nafa Financial Services grew from working with 2 staff and a partner to the first Gambian forex bureau registered as an NGO with partnerships all over Europe and America.
NAFA has over 2000 payout locations around The Gambia and over 30,000 payout locations across West Africa.
With a highly disciplined team of professionals serving a growing customer base, NAFA is the largest Gambian-owned remittance company with subsidiaries in 6 West African countries and remittances to 16 African countries.
