Exploring the benefits of a Diaspora account

Nigerians are generally adventurous and love to travel outside the shores of the country in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece, amongst other reasons.

Culturally, Nigerians place a premium on family values and strive to maintain the bond with the family back home when they sojourn in foreign lands. Expectedly, they keep in touch with immediate and extended family members and regularly send money for their upkeep and general maintenance. Nigerians of the South-East extraction, for instance, go as far as sending dues for their local associations to maintain membership. They also pay dues for community projects as well as send money to help acquire and maintain assets on their behalf.

In years past, sending money home was at certain risks as there were no guarantees that the money would get to intended beneficiaries when sent through third parties. There were cases of money lost in transit or diverted for other purposes other than its original intent. The advent of payment channels like MoneyGram and Western Union Money Transfer offered some relief, and even though charges are paid by the sender, they are safer ways of sending money back home. But some people are still set in their old ways of sending money to their families via third parties.

It was to address this need that several banks in Nigeria have over the past couple of years developed a bouquet of customised products and services. Stanbic IBTC Bank, for instance, introduced a new service called the Stanbic IBTC Diaspora Account (DA). This account is an investment vehicle for Nigerians living and working legally abroad and it comes with a lot of benefits. A Diaspora Account runs like a regular savings, current or business account but is run by the holder from abroad. A Diaspora Account holder can choose to operate the account in an international currency denomination of choice or as a naira-denominated account, and benefits from interest rates applicable to a regular savings or current account as operated from Nigeria.

Interestingly, the Diaspora Account offers a robust number of benefits, including the ability to manage one’s finances and streamline spending in order to ensure planning. There are several investment opportunities in Nigeria which Nigerians living abroad may not be able to take advantage of. A Diaspora Account holder, on the other hand, can choose to invest in whatever offer is being made by the bank, while managing and monitoring his investments remotely from his base abroad. In addition, he is not saddled with the problem of foreign exchange fluctuations and can always make timely payments for goods and services via internet banking, as his account can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Day or night, the business does not suffer.

Because he can operate the internet banking platform, a Diaspora Account holder can ensure his loved ones are properly catered for by simply and seamlessly transferring funds to the accounts of family members. He can also choose to save money for his children’s schools fees as well as take advantage of a variety of asset loans on offer.

One of the key advantages of the Diaspora Account is the ability of the account holder to acquire assets and fund local projects without recourse to third parties. This is particularly useful as Nigerians living abroad like to keep their fingers on the pulse of goings-on back home, which is why they regularly send money home to acquire assets to which they hope to retire to some day. It is a well documented fact that a number of Nigerians returned home in order to participate in the last elections which ushered in the present administration.

The same principle applies with regards to acquiring assets and financing local projects to enable them retire well. Since the Diaspora Account is run like a regular current or business account, the holder can source for loans in order to help finance certain projects, and enjoy the same interest rates applicable to local account holders. Furthermore, managing his pension fund is made easy and his pension account can be monitored to ensure remittance of his pension savings in preparation for retirement back home.

The sale of Federal Government bonds is not limited to Nigerians living within the country. A holder of the Diaspora Account can as well take advantage of such an offer and invest through the bank. It has been said by some people that they only become aware of the sale of government bonds after the offer had elapsed. Because Diaspora Account holders are constantly provided with information, they are kept abreast of all offers, keeping them in an advantageous position to invest in preferred instrument.

Some Nigerians have said that they would have benefited from the sale of Federal Government bonds if only they had been in the country when it was offered for sale. The good news is that with the Stanbic IBTC Diaspora Account, Nigerians abroad interested in purchasing government bonds can do so through the bank.

The benefits of a Diaspora Account are enormous and Nigerians in the diaspora are encouraged to take advantage of this service to enjoy the convenience and affordable way by which account holders can manage their finances. In addition, the bank forwards an e-statement monthly via email to the account holder and there are no limits on the frequency of withdrawals.

Nigerians love to travel but they also sometimes burden themselves with love to worry. With the Stanbic IBCT Diaspora Account, they can focus more on their businesses and worry less about investing their finance.

Adebayo Adebola

Adebola is a Lagos-based financial consultant.