“The future of money is now. The future of money is Kotani Pay.”
In the past, money movement across borders was in form of either a broker network, physically moving the cash, or through a courier. When banks and wire transfers came, it was the answer to the risky, unsafe, and unreliable movement. This method has worked for years but in today’s globalized and fast-paced world what worked then is a challenge in the now.
For Japheth Dibo, the CEO and Co-founder of Dial Afrika, his biggest challenge with money movement using banks and wire transfers is reliability.
“Due to the dollar shortage, banks have a limit on how much you can withdraw in a day and this can kill a business because you won’t be able to move the volume of money you need to run your business.”
Dial Afrika is a B2B Software as a service (SaaS) customer support company that offers customer support software such as CRM ticketing and sales CRM. Like so many startups raising funds, Dial Afrika was expected by its investors to be registered in the US and have a US-based account. This meant he had to find a way to move the funds back to Kenya for growth and operations in the local currency.
“ Another challenge we encountered with moving money using the bank was the exchange rates. Banks were offering very high exchange rates that were costly for us,” he added.
A Web3 solution
In his quest for a solution, Japheth started with a familiar point, friends who engaged in stablecoin trading. By presenting his problem to them, he was given alternative solutions in the Web3 space that spoke to his money movement challenges, and reservations and thus began his search.
“Despite jumping around different applications, hard to find someone who can give you a proper exchange rate considering our current inflation rate without swindling you.”
When Japheth discovered Kotani Pay’s stablecoin settlement solution, which can convert his dollars into stablecoins for transactions and back to the local currency, it seemed like an obvious answer to him. Not only did he get to save on the transaction cost and time, but he was also able to get these funds in his local currency for use.
“ Kotani Pay is an African start-up offering a brilliant solution, it only makes sense to be able to grow with each other.”
But what about the investors? Did they share the same sentiments?
His choice of using a Web3 solution for a Web2 company raised questions and doubts if it would ever work.
“ What convinced us to trust Kotani Pay with our money is when they asked for our KYC. It gave us a sense of security that our money is safe.”
Like all successful businessmen, Japheth dared to use stablecoins and it was a rewarding experience that he does not regret.
“Kotani Pay is very proactive with how fast they can move that cash for you and the level of customer support and advice with the current market inflation. They can still maintain a good standard exchange rate compared to what banks or local providers will offer.”
Tried, tested, and succeeded, Japheth could confidently go back to the investors and report on how much they have been able to save with a local solution. It also made it easier for him and the investors to trust the solution for regular transactions.
Seamless money movement
Japheth’s journey in Web3 started with an email. This was followed by a thorough KYC/AML information and verification stage that would determine the legality of the business.
“Our KYC involved filling forms, signing documents, and attaching supporting documents to prove the legality of our business and the credibility of the source of funds. It was crucial for us to go through this stage to ensure that everything done was legal.”
Once the paperwork was done and verified, Dial Afrika was onboarded.
“The integration was straightforward. It was also easy to get support fast. The whole process took about 2 hours but that is because we were moving large volumes. Smaller volumes take minutes.”
For a first-time Web3 business user, Japheth was impressed by how fast he could move that amount of money and still save on transaction costs and exchange rates.
When asked what else made him happy with the transaction, Japheth adds,
“I was happy with the fact that we don’t need to rely on international service providers now to move money. Also, the level of security you feel when you’re working with a local partner who also has experience in different markets across Africa makes it easier for you to build some level of trust with them.”
What was once an expensive problem to Dial Afrika is now a non-issue. He can confidently rely on stablecoins to move money.
“ Whenever I want to move money, all I do is email Kotani Pay and let them know how much I’ll be moving, attach the supporting documentation for the same and once I move the cash within the next few minutes I have it in my local bank account.”
Here is the but
For Japheth, the biggest problem he has with the Web3 solution is that it’s not sensitized enough.
True to this, according to a survey done, 17% of men and 8% of women have heard of the term Web3. In terms of generational knowledge, 20% of Gen Z and 18% of millennials have heard about the word Web3. At the forefront of cryptocurrency adoption in the world is Africa with an adoption rate of 1,200% with six African countries earning a spot in the 2021 Global crypto adoption index.
This is mostly attributed to the fact that Africa tends to gain more on real-world use cases of cryptocurrencies cutting cross-business to communities. Who then is best equipped to share this knowledge other than early adopters and Web3 builders?
“ You guys (Web3 builders) are better placed to sensitize people in all sectors across Africa. Not just businesses, but also people from unprivileged Communities as to why they need to hold stablecoin assets and move their money using these digital assets.”
According to Japheth, with the current global economy, if one needs to hold wealth and asset allocation, they are far better off doing this in form of stablecoins as it holds value.
Words to the wise
“If you have never explored Web3 for your business solutions, you do not know what you are missing out.”
As the CEO of a Web2 company, he can point out the multiple benefits that come with stablecoins with the top being a big save. Japheth gets to save on the cross-border transaction rate, exchange rate, and time of money movement.
“ Also, I am not restricted to the local exchange rates or the current exchange rates. With Kotani Pay, I get a consistent rate depending on market fluctuations. This is very credible and has been a game-changer for us .”
In addition, Stablecoins offers a secure way to move money as all transactions are encrypted and time stamped. This helps to prevent fraud and promotes more transparency in all transactions. The “ Big save” is attributed to the peer-to-peer transaction that eliminates intermediaries making all transactions faster and cheaper.
“I feel like the advantages of Web3 outweigh the disadvantages by far and if only people knew what they’re missing out, they would have been on Kotani Pay right now.”
Learn more on how you can leverage Kotani Pay’s reliable on-ramp/off-ramp solution for your cross-border needs.
‘
