Oneremit puts people at the centre of cross-border payments as COO says businesses need more than an app
Much of fintech has spent the last decade trying to remove people from payments.
Open an app. Enter an amount. Add a beneficiary. Click send.
That model works well for straightforward transactions. Cross-border business payments, however, are not always straightforward.
Oneremit, which helps businesses pay and get paid across more than 100 countries, is putting dedicated human support at the heart of how it serves African businesses.
The company calls this approach its concierge model, built for moments when technology alone isn't enough.
Speaking on the model, the Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Oneremit, Olusola Kolawole, said many businesses had learned to expect silence when an international payment went wrong.
"Most business owners have a story about a payment that disappeared into a bank somewhere, and nobody could tell them where it was.
"That experience is what we built the concierge model to end," he said.
Kolawole explained that the company's service model is designed to meet businesses where they are, rather than forcing every transaction into the same process.
"Some businesses send one large payment a quarter. Others pay a dozen suppliers every week. Some want to do everything themselves, and others want someone to walk them through each step.
"We build around the business, not the other way round," he said.
According to him, the difference shows most when a payment needs attention.
"Picture an importer in Lagos with goods waiting to be released in China. The supplier says the money has not arrived.
"That business owner does not need a ticket number. They need someone who can locate the payment, call the receiving bank, and tell them when it will land.
"Our team does that," he said.
He said the model mattered most for businesses moving large sums for imports, payroll, and supplier settlements, where even a day's delay could hold up goods or strain a relationship.
"When a business sends money through us, they are trusting us with their reputation in front of their supplier. We take that seriously," Kolawole said.
Also speaking, Olorunfemi Obasa, Head of Business at Oneremit, said businesses' initial questions are rarely technical.
According to him, most want to know one thing before they send their first payment: who they will speak to if something goes wrong.
"By the end of onboarding, we know who a business pays, how often, and what their deadlines look like.
"So when they call us later, they are not starting from the beginning. They are talking to people who already understand their business," he said.
Kolawole added that technology still did the heavy lifting, with payments settling in minutes through local networks.
"Technology moves the money. People make sure it gets there," he said.
Oneremit holds regulatory licences and registrations in Nigeria, Canada and the United States, with expansion underway in the United Kingdom and Ghana.
The company said its concierge model would remain central to how it serves businesses as it enters new markets.
Contact Information
Website: oneremit.co Email: support@oneremit.co
Why Oneremit is betting on people, not just platforms, to solve cross-border payments