Global remittance specialists Moneytrans and Remitly are making further inroads into Africa as the continent's payments sector embraces more sophisticated technology and experiences growth.
European and African payment provider Moneytrans has partnered with US-based remittance company Remitly to bring improved remittance services to the African continent.
The global co-operation agreement comes as the remittance scene in the region experiences a period of rapid growth; remittances to the Middle East and North Africa grew 9.3 percent to $53bn in 2017, driven by strong flows to Egypt, in response to more stable exchange rate expectations, according to the World Bank. The number is expected to increase further in 2018.
Through the partnership, Remitly and Moneytrans will make available 4,000 retail payout locations in 10 countries in the Middle East and North and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Digital money transfer service Remitly, which is backed by Jeff Bezos’s venture capital firm Bezos Expeditions, sends more than $6bn in annualized volume from customers principally based in the US, Canada, UK and Australia.
“Moneytrans was a natural partner choice to build up our offerings accessing to its extensive network of digital wallet providers, banks and cash pick-up networks across Africa,” said Matt Oppenheimer, CEO of Remitly.
By challenging established financial services with a transparent and technology-focused proposition, Moneytrans hopes to grow its market share across Africa.
“Moneytrans’s collaboration with Remitly is part of the company’s long-term strategy to enable interoperability and to democratize financial services in Africa. The main economic and social objective of our partnership is to help African migrants to have access to low-cost, secure and instant payment medium,” said Francisco Sanchez Apellaniz, founder and CEO of Moneytrans.
When the World Bank published its latest Migration and Development Brief in April, the report’s lead author Dilip Ratha commented: “While remittances are growing, countries, institutions, and development agencies must continue to chip away at high costs of remitting so that families receive more of the money.
“Eliminating exclusivity contracts to improve market competition and introducing more efficient technology are high-priority issues.”