Yolat has launched Yolat 2.0, letting Africans at home and abroad receive, hold, and convert money in US dollars, pounds, euros, and Canadian dollars.
Yolat, a cross-border payments company serving Africans on the continent and in the diaspora, has rebuilt its app and website, moving beyond money transfers to a service for earning, holding, and moving money across borders. Customers can now open accounts in their own name in US dollars, British pounds, euros, and Canadian dollars, and receive payments from employers, clients, platforms, and family abroad. A professional in Nigeria can be paid by an employer in the UK, a family in Canada can support relatives at home, and a business can collect payments from overseas customers or pay suppliers abroad from one account.
Transparent rates and faster onboarding
According to Yolat, many Africans earning from abroad still face slow and costly payments, as foreign banks turn them away, transfers take days, and hidden exchange rate markups reduce what they receive. In Yolat 2.0, the exchange rate and fee are shown before every conversion or transfer, and most identity checks are approved or declined within minutes. The rebuilt service is available on iOS, Android, and the web, was designed with feedback from customers, and comes with round-the-clock support from staff.
Yolat serves individuals and businesses that move money between Africa and the rest of the world, including families, students, importers, and companies with overseas clients. The company says the product is based on three principles: that location should not be a barrier, that Africans should be able to earn globally, and that customers should not lose money to fees and exchange rates. Yolat is registered with FINTRAC as a money services business and with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payment Activities Act, and holds an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Competition for diaspora payments
Toyosi Abolarin, Founder and CEO of Yolat, stated that Africans abroad have long had to struggle with their banks to receive their own money, while people and businesses at home have found it difficult to pay and get paid across borders. According to Abolarin, Yolat 2.0 is designed so that professionals, students, and businesses can get paid, see exactly what they are being charged, and move their money freely.
Other providers are targeting the same customers. Nigeria-based Grey, which serves more than 3 million users, has launched Paycheck, a salary account for professionals paid in US dollars, pounds, and euros, and is extending it into savings and planned lending based on customers’ salary data. Yolat’s offering differs in two respects: it adds Canadian dollar accounts, a currency not covered by Grey’s product, and it is aimed at businesses as well as individuals, covering collections from overseas customers and payments to foreign suppliers.
