Ecobank Nigeria has said it is joining the rest of the country to celebrate Nigerians in the diaspora by making transactions on its proprietary money transfer app, Rapidtransfer, free of charge from July to October.

A statement from the bank on Wednesday said this was in commemoration of this year’s National Diaspora Day event.

The statement said the Federal Government had set aside July 25 of every year as the National Diaspora Day in recognition of the contributions of Nigerians living outside the country towards the development of their homeland.

In a commemorative message, the Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, said Nigerians in the diaspora contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of the country.

Akinwuntan lauded the decision of the Federal Government to set aside a special day every year as the National Diaspora Day, adding that the recent launch of the national diaspora policy by the government would further promote and harness the resources and capacity of Nigerians in the diaspora towards national development.

He said, “As a pan-African institution positioned to foster the economic growth and integration of our continent, we are particularly pleased to work closely with NiDCOM, ably led by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa, towards the engagement of Nigerians in the diaspora on policies, projects and other initiatives geared at developing the nation.

“From our constant engagement with Nigerians in the diaspora, we understand their peculiar needs and have created tailor-made solutions to serve them effectively.”

He said Ecobank had partnered with NiDCOM on webinars and diaspora quarterly lecture series, adding that it would continue to seek other collaboration opportunities to deepen engagement with the diaspora community.

Also speaking,  the Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Korede Demola-Adeniyi, said, “Ecobank will apply zero fees to all Rapidtransfer transactions from July 1 till the end of October, 2021, thereby enabling Nigerians living abroad to send money to their loved ones affordably.”

According to her, the decision to waive charges underscored the bank’s commitment to helping Nigerians abroad remit money home without placing an additional burden of charges on them, especially at this period of global economic downturn.