- Mukuru, which is based in the city of Cape Town, said that it had seen a rise in users during the coronavirus pandemic – caused in part by customers choosing to prioritise remittances to family.
- Remittance services were designated as essential during the coronavirus lockdowns in South Africa – offering firms such as Mukuru a lifeline as customers in some verticals sought continued services.
- The firm has also paired up with global money transfer brand WorldRemit to offer what was described by Mukuru’s chief executive as “broader, deeper pay-out networks” that tackled the network’s “white space” issues.
A cross-border payments firm based in the South African city of Cape Town has confirmed a rise in customer numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Mukuru said that the rise was also fuelled due to the firm’s pairing with a global brand, WorldRemit.
The new partnership is enabling Mukuru to expand into other sub-Saharan African countries, such as Zimbabwe.
Mukuru was first set up in 2004.
According to its own statistics, it has around two million senders on its books.
The number of recipients it has, however, is significantly higher at around five million.
It has also executed close to 50m transactions in recent years.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the firm suffered in some ways.
It saw customer interest drop in some verticals given that work had dried up.
However, the requirement of many people to send money home to their families and loved ones is believed to have contributed to a rise in interest in other parts of the business.
In a statement, a senior figure at the firm went into more detail about how the company was in fact able to operate more efficiently during the pandemic.
Andy Jury, who is the company’s chief executive, said that the collaboration with WorldRemit meant that customer networks were made stronger.
“We’ve enabled WorldRemit to offer broader, deeper pay-out networks to their customers, and the transactions we assist them to pay out mean we fill ‘white space’ in our network, which in turn helps us to run more efficiently,” said Jury.
On the topic of some of Mukuru’s remittance corridors remaining busy, Jury suggested that the dynamics of the industry meant that some imperatives – such as responsibilities to families – were more enduring in the pandemic.
“We believe this is the result of the purpose underpinning remittance flows – the need to support families in the country of origin,” he explained.
In some cases, he suggested, the customer base did this even in the face of wider financial problems.
“Customers were driven to do this, even if it meant making other personal sacrifices,” he suggested.
One advantage on Mukuru’s side was that money transfer outlets were permitted by the South African government to continue operating during the pandemic on the grounds that they were essential providers.
If you’re interested in discovering more information about the online money transfer industry and its operations around the world, our reviews page is a good place to start looking.
