AS to further enhance relationships between their Ghana and local agents, MoneyGram International (UK) recently invited three agent banks from Ghana, First Atlantic Merchant Bank Limited, Ghana Commercial Bank Limited and Merchant Bank to the UK According to Martina Moh, the Afro-Caribbean Specialist Consultant for MoneyGram International, the representatives for the agent banks were invited mainly to familiarise themselves with their local operations and also to come and promote their banks link to MoneyGram here in the Diaspora. Martina explained that Ghana is a very important receive market for MoneyGram in particular for send transactions from the UK. The recipient in Ghana needs to collect his money at a MoneyGram location in Ghana, and this is why the Ghanaian agent Banks used this opportunity to come and market their services and banks here in the UK.
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Mark Perryman (MoneyGram Regional Director UK and Ireland), Martina Moh (Africa Specialist MoneyGram UK and
Ireland), Solomon Hammond (First Atlantic Bank), Bridget Tetteh (Presenter Premier Christian Radio), Alhaji Hussein
Salifu, (Ghana Commercial Bank), Pastor Kwaku and Pastor Claude (recipients of funds towards their Ghana
Orphanage project).
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MoneyGram has thousands of locations here in the UK which clients can use to send money to their relatives and loved ones. MoneyGram has one of the largest Money Transfer agent networks worldwide.
M o n e y G r a m International is a global leader in international money transfer services, working closely with specially chosen agents in 152,000 locations across 180 countries and territories.
Ekow Bohan from Ghana Merchant Bank, Mr Hussein Salifu (Alhaji) from Ghana Commercial Bank and Mr Solomon Hammond from First Atlantic Bank |
Ghana commercial Bank, the country’s largest indigenous Bank with 141 branches nationwide, operates as one of MoneyGram’s agents through all its branches across Ghana. Alhaji Hussein Salifu, the visiting representative for Ghana Commercial Bank, is the bank’s head of marketing. In the press briefing, Alhaji Salifu expanded on MoneyGram’s reliability, safe and fast style of money transfer. “MoneyGram is ahead of other money transfer companies; they are the fastest and safest way to send and receive money worldwide,” Salifu said. “Other attributes include organizing the yearly promotion and fact-finding tours to the main send markets like United States of America, United Kingdom. The tour was therefore focused to link up ‘the send-agents’ with ‘the pay-agents’ in the receive countries.
Alhaji Hussein Salifu continued, elaborating on how quick payments are carried out when Ghanaians remit money back home. MoneyGram offers a ten minute service and their relatives can collect their money from any of the 141 branches nationwide of Ghana Commercial Bank Branches. |
“Meeting the MoneyGram International UK and Ireland team is for us agents an opportunity to establish how we can improve our services to our clients. MoneyGram together with their agents continually strive to improve and enhance their services. Earlier in the day, these agents were hosted on a local radio station and all the callers who phoned in thanked MoneyGram for the safe and reliable services that they offer. A few callers also won a prize from MoneyGram for participating in the program.
In addition, First Atlantic Merchant Bank are using GT (Ghana Telecom). GT is the largest telecommunication company in Ghana and they have pay centers across the country. Solomon Hammond, the bank’s manager for global remittances and the visiting representative, during the press briefing, emphasized the convenience that the GT paying centers offers their clients. It is also a Non-Banking environment and research on their part has shown that many clients preferred to use this informal type of environment to collect remittances from. “It’s quite easy to walk into any Ghana Telecom pay center, which is in every corner of the country, and pick up your money.”
Anton Luttig, the Business Development Manager for MoneyGram International South Africa, rounded up the press briefing with figures of banks and MoneyGram locations in Ghana and the convenience MoneyGram’s vast network provides. “Currently we have six agent banks in Ghana and over 250 locations nationwide via the networks that our agents have,” Anton says. “We have seen significant growth in Ghana over the last two years, both in terms of our network and transactional growth. MoneyGram is available in all UK Post Offices, Thomas Cook and Independent shops around the UK. This impressive network in the UK offers exceptional convenience to our clients and our fees are also very competitive and affordable.
Our clients can now remit £100 for only £4.99. MoneyGram also places huge emphasis on their corporate social responsibility program. Last Tuesday, MoneyGram’s Regional Director Mark Perryman donated £1000 to the Trinity Baptist Church headed by Senior Pastor Kingley Appiagyei who’s currently building an orphanage in Ghana. Pastor Kwaku and Pastor Claude who were interviewed alongside Mark Perryman on Christian Premier Radio by Bridget Tetteh were very appreciative of MoneyGram’s contribution and also used the opportunity to invite people to become an ambassador for this project by making a donation to this valuable cause.
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