Digital money transfer provider SimbaPay has expanded its services to five new countries as diaspora banking kicks up.

SimbaPay - which began to allow Kenyans living abroad to make M-Pesa paybill payments last June - has extended its instant Africa money transfer service to France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain in addition to the United Kingdom.

Africans living in these EU countries will now be able to send money back home instantly and free of charge. Money transferred via the service to Africa is credited instantly at the destination mobile money wallet, merchant or bank account.

“We’re quite pleased to deliver this to Africans in the EU and partner banks in Africa that have been requesting we expand the service to these new territories” said Nyasinga Onyancha, CEO for SimbaPay.

Competition in these segment of financial services has been on the rise as Swedish money transfer company, Taaj Service, made its entry to the market earlier this month.

Taaj joins mobile money providers, banks, licensed money remittance providers, and international firms such as Western Union and MoneyGram in the remittance market.

Taaj will allow Kenyans working in countries such as the UK, Canada, US, Sweden and Australia to send cash directly to the recipient’s mobile phone or to any of the 16 branches operated by Global Money Transfer, a licensed money remittance firm.

Last year, Kenyans working abroad sent home Sh154 billion up from Sh141 billion a year earlier.