25 March 2024
Leatherback, a global banking service provider for individuals and businesses, has entered into a strategic partnership with YES BANK, a leader in India’s private banking sector, to enable easier remittance and Indian Rupee (INR) payouts in India for its users via its tech-driven platform.
Leatherback stands out as the first Africa-focused financial technology company to offer INR remittance payouts, catering to the growing trend of Africans and Indians exploring business and lifestyle opportunities on both the African and Asian continents.
In recent years, trade between African countries and India has grown significantly, reaching $103 billion in 2023. This makes India Africa’s third largest trading partner, after the European Union and China. India has also emerged as a major hub for medical tourism and is now considered among the top 6 medical value travel destinations in the world. 19.5 per cent of African tourists visited India for medical purposes in 2020.
This alliance will serve as a bridge facilitating economic growth and cultural exchange, empowering communities in both India and Africa through enhanced financial access and connectivity.
With this partnership, businesses, international students, medical migrants, tourists, and other Leatherback users from across the world will be able to leverage its advanced financial technology solutions and YES BANK's market leadership in retail, MSME, and corporate banking to seamlessly send funds to individuals and businesses in India that can be instantly collected in the local currency.
Remittance in Indian currency (INR) and payouts are available to users via SendR, Leatherback’s remittance solution. Users simply need to provide a valid Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) - like SWIFT codes for USD and GBP payments - to complete the payment. Users from more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, West and Central Africa, and more can access up to 15 currencies, taking advantage of a seamless, digital identity verification process, upfront low fees, real-time competitive FX rates, and a secure, fast, and easy-to-use onboarding process to access more payment possibilities in India.
According to Ibrahim Toyeeb Ibitade, CEO of Leatherback, “It is truly special to partner with YES BANK to connect more global players to emerging opportunities in India. India represents an exciting frontier for us on our mission to make it as easy as possible to move money around the world, and we are looking forward to playing our part in enabling the opportunities that abound in this market, with effective payment solutions. Over the years, we have delivered best-in-class financial, payment, and commerce solutions that remove barriers to global growth and mobility, and we are excited to leverage these solutions to unlock more opportunities in the Indian market.”
Headquartered in London, Leatherback is regulated in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Canada, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, enabling the platform to effectively serve customers across a wide range of markets. Over 30,000 customers already use the platform to support business and lifestyle opportunities every day. Leatherback is FCA Authorised, PCI DSS Compliant, and ISO Certified.