Equity Bank is reportedly piloting a new service that will see it’s account holders able to receive money sent to them via Western Union directly to their bank accounts using Equity’s ATM Machines. According to niaje.com, the service that has not been officially rolled out takes a user through a few steps after they insert their ATM card into the machine and enter PIN.

On the ATM menu, there will be a Western Union logo (alongside the M-Pesa one) and when you select that as the option, it takes you to a window where you enter the Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN). Then you select expected amount - unfortunately, they do not give you the currency conversion rate, and you have to enter the amount in Kenya shillings -  and after that you select the sender’s country from a list provided. If your sender’s country is not on the list, they have special codes for each country that will be provided next to the ATMs.

If the transaction is successful, the money will be transferred directly to your Equity bank account and you can control it from there using any of their other services, including Easy 247, their mobile banking service built on USSD. Equity is testing this service in a few of its branches before they roll it out countrywide.

When rolled out, this service will contribute to the growth of money remittances in the country due to the ease and convenience of the system. According to Central Bank of Kenya reports, in September 2012, remittances to Kenya amounted to US$ 92.5 million (KES 7.9 billion). Increased competition among money transfer service providers has reduced transaction charges. Mobile phone companies’ partnership with international money transfer players such as Western Union has made it cheaper and more convenient to send money back home.

Read More on Diaspora Remittances.