CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Strike, the world’s leading digital payments platform built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, today announced its “Send Globally” feature, enabling instant, low-cost payments to Africa. Strike’s Send Globally is available to all Strike users in the U.S. starting today, with initial coverage for Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

“High fees, slow settlement, and lack of innovation in cross-border payments have negatively impacted the developing world,” said Jack Mallers, Founder and CEO of Strike. “With exorbitant fees to transfer funds in and out of Africa and incumbent providers halting services, payments companies are struggling to operate in Africa and people cannot send money home to their family members. Strike offers an opportunity for people to transfer their US dollars easily and instantly across borders"

Strike has partnered with African payments platform Bitnob to enable instant payments to Africa. Now, using Lightning rails under the hood, Strike’s Send Globally feature provides users in the U.S. a cheaper, faster, and more innovative way to instantly send payments to Africa. Using Send Globally, a Strike user can send money to Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya instantly with no transaction fees. Payments are instantly converted into naira, cedi, or shillings, and deposited directly into a recipient’s bank, mobile money, or Bitnob account. Send Globally improves the speed, affordability, and ease of payments to Africa, including in countries that have fewer available options for cross-border money transfers.

“The current financial system isn't set up in a way that ensures equal access for people and institutions from Africa,” said Bernard Parah, Founder and CEO of Bitnob. “What we have built reduces the pressure on our financial institutions in sourcing USD liquidity. People can now easily exchange value from the US to people in Africa in the cheapest way possible. We can now save people sending money back home to Africa billions of USD in transfer fees.” Strike will continue to expand payment services to Africa by harnessing integrations and exploratory partnerships including with Chipper Cash – one of Africa's largest peer-to-peer and cross-border payment service providers.