Digital money transfer service WorldRemit has partnered First Bank, Nigeria's largest bank, to enable users in more than 50 countries to send instant money transfers direct to all 14 million First Bank accounts, in the latest partnership deal signed by the company.

The new strategic partnership considerably expands WorldRemit's footprint in the country and allows its customers to send money to First Bank accounts directly from their phones, supporting WorldRemit's plan to serve 10 million customers connected to emerging markets by 2020.

It is just the latest such partnership signed by the well-funded WorldRemit as it looks to drive uptake of its remittances platform globally, having become the exclusive money transfer partner of Lebara in April and also inked a deal with Wafacash to expand across West and Central Africa. It has also partnered with Huawei's mobile money service and integrated with Android Pay.

First Bank's aim is to drive convenience and ease of banking for its customers, as well as provide a push for financial inclusion initiatives. The bank has over 14 million customer accounts.

With a diaspora of over 15 million people living in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, remittances play an important role in Nigeria's economy. The World Bank estimates that in 2017 alone Nigeria received over US$22 billion in remittances, making it the largest recipient in Africa.

"We are delighted to be partnering with First Bank, one of Nigeria's leading banks, to give its 14 million customers access to our best in class money transfer experience. Nigeria remains our largest and fastest growing market in Africa, and WorldRemit's second biggest market globally. This is a key partnership in the country that will further support Nigeria's transition from offline remittances to online, safer, faster and lower-cost money transfer methods," said Andrew Stewart, tegional head of Middle East and Africa at WorldRemit.

Abiodun Famuyiwa, group head of products and marketing support at First Bank, said the company was excited to be working WorldRemit in delivering swift digital remittances to its customers in Nigeria.

"This partnership is one of the numerous ways the Bank would continue to put customers first by leading the industry in the use of technology to provide safe, convenient and fast banking solutions," he said.