The fear of travelling late at night made it impossible to keep my eyes anything but wide open. Yet the rhythmic groan of the rusty ageing bus threatened to lull me to sleep.
I would never have travelled at such an hour under normal circumstances. But my mother’s burial was scheduled for that morning, and there was no way I was going to miss it.
I had used the money I originally set aside for a flight, to support my son at university.
Just as sleep began to creep in, a loud bang shattered the silence.
The bus lurched to a halt.
For a fleeting moment, I imagined the worst. But the passengers soon realised it was only a mechanical fault. The vehicle broke down by the roadside at 1 a.m.
As I looked towards the distance all I saw was darkness. Fear tightened its grip on me until I heard my husband’s voice.
“Honey, it’s alright. I’ll go help the driver push the bus.”
I nodded, trying to steady myself. Then my phone rang. It was my son. My pride and joy.
The child whose admission into a university in Zimbabwe had filled me with so much pride. I never missed an opportunity to tell family and friends that my son was studying abroad.
But behind the pride was a constant struggle.
Paying fees for transfers while struggling to find a reliable way to transfer money. The calls always seemed to come at odd hours. And sending money across borders was never simple.
Most channels were expensive. Some required multiple processes. Others were so complicated that I often found myself relying on recommendations from friends and acquaintances.
Eventually, I found someone who offered a peer-to-peer service.
I would transfer money to him in Nigeria, and he would arrange for the equivalent amount to reach my son in Zimbabwe. The fee was lower than many of the alternatives.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Just a few days earlier, worried that the naira might lose more value in the coming weeks, I had sent the naira equivalent of $1,000 through him to support my son for the remainder of the semester.
“Mum…”
My son’s voice rang through the phone speakers
“I think that man scammed you.”
A cold sensation washed over me.
“What do you mean?”
“The money hasn’t arrived. I’ve tried reaching him all day.”
My hands trembled.
I quickly dialled the number.
No answer.
I called again.
Nothing.
Again.
And again.
Over fifty calls later, there was still no response.
Just like that, the money was gone.
At that moment, being stranded in a broken-down bus in the middle of nowhere no longer felt like the biggest problem.
I thought about the long hours at work.
The sacrifices.
The trust I had placed in someone because I felt I had no better option.
Being a parent is difficult enough. Being a parent supporting a child in another African country can feel even harder when moving money is expensive, stressful, or dependent on informal arrangements.
It shouldn’t have to be that way.
Fortunately, things are changing.
Today, customers no longer have to rely on unverified middlemen or complicated money-transfer arrangements to send funds across several African countries.
With FirstBank’s PAPSS (Pan-African Payment and Settlement System) service, available through the LIT App, customers can send money directly to beneficiaries in participating African countries from their FirstBank accounts.
PAPSS charges just 1% of the transaction value, capped at a minimum of $2 and a maximum of $16 (naira equivalent), exclusive of VAT. On the $1,000 I sent, I would have paid significantly less than the amount I was charged by the unreliable intermediary.
More importantly, I would have had the peace of mind that comes with using a secure banking channel. While no technology can eliminate every challenge of life, it can remove some unnecessary ones. Because when your child calls from another country, the conversation should be about how they are doing. Not whether the money you worked so hard to earn will ever arrive.
The LIT app also offers account opening in minutes, facial authentication for secure onboarding, complaint logging and tracking, and lifestyle and financial management services including flight bookings, scheduled payments, and instant loans.
When loved ones are counting on you, every transfer should bring peace of mind, not uncertainty. To bank smarter, safer and easier, download the LIT App today.
