- WorldRemit is set to power Airtel Africa’s new moves in Rwanda – though the latter already has presences in a number of countries across the continent, such as Uganda.
- The firms will now be able to expand their customer base through collaboration.
- “We are committed to enhancing financial inclusion in the countries we operate,” said the chief executive officer of Airtel Africa.
Cross-border payments provider WorldRemit has announced a brand-new partnership with Sub-Saharan African telecoms firm Airtel Africa.
Airtel’s financial services brand Airtel Money is already a major player on the continent’s remittances scene, with services currently operating in nations such as Niger, Malawi and Zambia.
The firm also currently provides money transfer services in Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, once the new partnership with Airtel is up and running, it will also be possible for consumers in Rwanda to transfer cash to Airtel Mobile Money accounts.
Customers will be able to collect their funds at one of the nodes in Airtel’s large network of kiosks and other physical outlets.
According to Raghunath Mandava, who serves as the chief executive officer of Airtel Africa, one of the firm’s major goals is to improve levels of “financial inclusion” in the nations in which it operates.
He also added that the company wanted to create a “huge infrastructure” to achieve its goals – both in terms of inward and outward cash flows.
“We are committed to enhancing financial inclusion in the countries we operate through building a huge infrastructure of cashing in and cashing out locations in the markets and increasing our distribution,” he said.
On WorldRemit’s part, Andrew Stewart, who is the company’s managing director for the Middle East & Africa, said: “The connection to more Mobile Money accounts through Airtel Africa allows us to expand our payout network and options available to customers across the continent.”
Airtel Africa is an increasingly common name on the online money transfer scene.
Despite being a telecoms firm, the company is also known for providing mobile phone-based money management services.
WorldRemit is barely ever out of the news these days, which, given the fact that it was only set up in 2010, is quite something.
However, news like this underscores a timeless fact – namely that the partnership model of two firms pooling their resources in the goal of increased reach is far from out of fashion, and may even be more in vogue given the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the new arrangement, though, is the emphasis on financial inclusion in the materials put out by the firms.
Ensuring that as many customers as possible can access financial services is a key goal of the most successful firms in the sector – and this is a trend that looks set to accelerate.
Head over to our magazine pages to learn more about the exciting and new partnerships on offer in the online money transfer field.
