Pesa Launches Australia Remittance Route to Nigeria

In Short

Pesa has expanded to Australia, opening a new remittance route for people sending money from Australia to Nigeria.

What Happened

Pesa has launched its services in Australia, targeting international students, working professionals, and families who need to move money between Australia and Nigeria.

The company says it is authorised by AUSTRAC as an Independent Remittance Dealer. AUSTRAC is Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulator. This authorisation is meant to show Pesa can operate under local compliance rules.

Pesa also says it connects directly to Australian Dollar payment infrastructure. In simple terms, this means it plugs into local payment rails so it can initiate transfers without relying as heavily on correspondent banking, which is the chain of intermediary banks that can add extra fees and delays.

At launch, customers in Australia can sign up on mobile and complete a profile in under two minutes, according to the company. Pesa is also advertising zero transfer fees for transfers from AUD to Nigerian Naira, plus upfront exchange rates at checkout so senders can see what the recipient should receive.

Why It Matters

Australia is a smaller corridor than the UK, Canada, and the US for Nigerian remittances, but it is still meaningful. Pesa cited census data that puts the Nigeria-born population in Australia at 12,883 people, concentrated in cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

For users, the key promise is pricing transparency. Many remittance apps advertise low fees, then earn margin through exchange rate markups, which is when the FX rate you get is worse than the real market rate.

For the market, this move shows how African cross-border payment providers are expanding by securing formal regulator approvals and building closer connections to local payment systems. That combination can improve speed, reduce failed transfers, and make compliance easier as rules tighten globally.

Pesa said future phases will include multi-currency accounts and cards for global spending.