Sterling Bank has announced a strategic partnership with global cross-border payments infrastructure provider Thunes, aimed at transforming how Nigerians abroad send money home. The collaboration integrates Sterling Bank with Thunes’ Direct Global Network, enabling faster and more transparent international transfers from key European markets directly into Sterling Bank accounts, a crucial upgrade for remittances that have traditionally been slow and expensive.
Nigeria is one of Africa’s biggest remittance recipients. In 2024, the Nigerian diaspora sent home over $20 billion, underscoring the urgency for smoother cross-border payment options. The new linkage into Thunes’ network will allow Nigerians living in the UK, EU and other supported regions to move funds into local naira accounts with speed and improved visibility on costs and exchange rates, a marked improvement over legacy systems that often take days and carry higher fees.
According to Sterling Bank’s Head of Switch & Remittances, Ayodeji Saba, the partnership gives customers a “faster, more reliable, and more affordable way to fund their Sterling Bank accounts from their foreign bank accounts.”
Thunes’ Senior Vice President for Sales in Africa, Daniel Parreira, emphasised that the collaboration pushes forward the company’s mission to make global money movement “instant, transparent, and accessible for all.” Thunes already partners with major financial institutions worldwide and has been expanding its footprint in Nigeria’s remittance ecosystem, including alliances with mobile-money and fintech platforms.
Earlier partnerships, such as Thunes’ alliance with MTN’s MoMo PSB, have already enabled real-time cross-border payments into mobile wallets from key international markets including the USA, UK, Canada, France and Australia. These developments reflect broader competition in Nigeria’s remittance space, where banks, fintechs and digital wallets are racing to capture the nation’s lucrative annual inflows.
Industry analysts note that faster, more affordable remittances not only benefit individual households by improving access to funds but also strengthen formal foreign exchange inflows and support broader economic participation across sectors like consumption and small business growth.
Sterling Bank’s move arrives amid a backdrop of evolving remittance solutions: in 2025, its own platform Switch partnered with Thunes to offer instant, zero-fee top-ups from GBP and EUR to naira accounts, a service designed to boost convenience for diaspora customers.
The bank’s integration into Thunes’ network also positions it to better compete with digital-first remittance providers and mobile-money services that have already adopted real-time global payment rails.
“With Thunes’ trusted technology,” Saba added, Sterling Bank is improving the experience for Nigerians abroad and strengthening its role in the country’s evolving financial landscape.
As remittance demand continues to grow, driven by millions of Nigerians living and working overseas, enhanced infrastructure like this partnership could make cross-border money flows more efficient, cheaper, and more aligned with modern expectations for instant digital payments.
