Bank Direct is an innovative money transfer service by expressPay that enables instant transfers into bank accounts in Ghana. Through this service, consumers can move money from various sources (bank accounts or any of the four mobile money networks) into any bank account, with funds reflecting instantly. This is an industry first and expressPay is proud to bring this service to fruition in collaboration with Visa and commercial banks in Ghana.
Bank Direct is simple and easy to use, riding on existing expressPay infrastructure. Sending money with Bank Direct is as simple as making any payment on expressPay from the app or website (click here for further details on how to make payments on expressPay). This means senders need to have an expressPay account (which is simply obtained by signing up if you’re not already a user). Senders can send funds to anyone, whether the recipients are already expressPay users or not. All the sender needs to send money via Bank Direct is the recipient’s phone number – NOT the recipient’s bank account details. Bank Direct uses Visa technology so this means the recipient needs to have a Visa bank card (i.e. a Visa ATM card) associated with the bank account in which the recipient intends to receive the transfer.
In summary, sending money with Bank Direct is a simple process:
The recipient instantly receives an SMS notification of the transfer!
There are two modes of operation for recipients following a Bank Direct payment:
This is the default setup for all recipients and allows recipients to choose which bank account to receive funds in. When a Bank Direct payment is made, the specified recipient will receive an SMS alert from expressPay of the incoming payment. The SMS will include a link directing the recipient to the expressPay website or the app (if the recipient is already an expressPay user) to complete the transfer. The controlled deposit option is great in cases where recipients have multiple bank accounts and want to determine which account receives a particular transfer.
In summary:
If you are an expressPay user who has not setup automatic deposits, simply follow the steps below:
If you are not an expressPay user, simply follow the steps below:
Funds should hit your bank account instantly!
This option is only available to recipients who are expressPay users and does not require any further action to receive a Bank Direct payment.
Recipients can setup their preferences so that all Bank Direct payments are automatically sent to their designated bank account. Recipients can do this by choosing a default transfer card in the “Cards” tab on the expressPay app or by visiting the “My Accounts” tab on the expressPay website. Recipients will simply receive an SMS alert from expressPay when transfers are complete. If recipients are signed up for mobile alerts from their bank, they will also receive an alert from their bank. Automatic deposits can be changed at any time by simply deselecting a default transfer card on the expressPay app or website.
One of the innovations of Bank Direct is the fact that a sender can simply send money equipped with just the recipient’s phone number. Upon making the payment, expressPay sends a notification to the recipient (via SMS, and in-app notifications for existing expressPay users). The recipient then enters the Visa card number associated with the bank account in which they would like to receive funds. Using the Visa card number, expressPay is then able to ‘push’ funds into the bank account. Recipients can sign up to expressPay and setup their accounts so the process of transferring funds to the designated account happens automatically.
Bank Direct is very affordable. The sender pays a fee of 1% to send money. So if the sender was sending 10 cedis, all the sender pays is 10 pesewas. This is cheaper than sitting in traffic or waiting in queue to make a deposit at the bank!
Yes, Bank Direct is setup to be instant. However, it relies on infrastructure from banks also. Unfortunately, there are a few banks who have not completed their setup. As a result, customers of those banks will receive their funds next day instead of instantly. Senders are made aware of which banks may not receive funds instantly before they proceed to send money. Recipients have the ultimate choice though and can choose to always receive funds in bank accounts who are already setup for instant receipt.
Yes, you can send from any bank account by using the Visa, MasterCard or GH Link ATM / debit card associated with the account. Transfers are currently restricted to cards linked to bank accounts in Ghana.
Yes, you can send from all four mobile money schemes - Airtel Money, MTN Mobile Money, Tigo Cash or Vodafone Cash.
Bank Direct is intended to work with all banks. However, some banks are still working on setting up their systems in order to participate in the service. At the moment, the following banks are able to receive funds with Bank Direct:
No, Bank Direct is enabled for domestic money transfers only. Senders can only use Ghanaian issued bank cards or mobile money accounts to send funds. A sender who has a bank account abroad cannot use Bank Direct to send funds instantly to a recipient with a Ghanaian bank account.
In the process of sending funds, you are asked to confirm the phone number. It is important to double check the phone number before proceeding with a transfer. If you get the phone number wrong, contact expressPay immediately.
Yes, there are standard transaction limits. Individuals or merchants who require larger limits can contact expressPay to request an increase.
The funds are in your bank account so you can retrieve the funds in the usual ways you take cash from your account.
No, you don’t need an expressPay account to receive funds with Bank Direct. All you need is a valid phone number and you will receive notification via SMS with instructions for retrieving the funds.