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NEWS
WorldRemit and Wafacash to launch African money transfer platform
D
igital money transfer service WorldRemit, in partnership with Morocco-based financial services company Wafacash, is offering instant money transfers across West
and Central Africa. The companies, which already work together in Morocco and Senegal, hope to expand into Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Cote D’Ivoire by the end of the year. The new service will let WorldRemit customers in more than 50 countries transfer money using an app or website.
In June, WorldRemit announced a global integration with Google’s Android Pay, followed by a partnership with Huawei’s mobile money platform across Africa. WorldRemit customers now complete 700,000 transfers every month from more than 50 send countries to more than140 receiving destinations.
Remittances in the region have experienced a decade of strong growth, amounting to a projected $34 billion across Sub- Saharan Africa in 2017. According to the World Bank, the value of remittances to Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal grew by an estimated 86%, 130% and 74% respectively, between 2006 and 2015.
Morocco alone received more than $7 billion in 2015, according to the World Bank, the equivalent of 7% of its GDP. WorldRemit’s digital, mobile-first model significantly improves security and compliance standards. Senders no longer need to visit a bricks-and-mortar agent, which can be inconvenient and time- consuming, particularly for migrants who do not get paid if they take time off to visit a bank or agency to do their transactions.
Wafacash is a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank, one of Africa’s major banking institutions. It has ambitious regional growth plans. The
Instant money transfers across West and Central Africa
company currently has pay-out points at Wafacash offices and Attijariwafa Bank branches and agents, enabling customers to pick up funds quickly and conveniently.
Samira Khamlichi, chief executive at Wafacash, said: “Our extended partnership will allow WorldRemit customers in more than 50 countries to send money to our cash pick-up locations across the region. This is only the beginning, as together with WorldRemit we will explore many other countries and horizons because our main objective is to better cater to the needs of our clients and business partners.”
Ismail Ahmed says, founder and CEO of WorldRemit, said: “We are delighted our partnership with Wafacash is growing. We have a shared vision that money transfers should be as safe, fast and low-cost as possible. This expansion means more cash pickup points in the region, making our service even more convenient.”
Telegram outfitted with Sberbank payment bots
S
berbank and messaging service Telegram have partnered to offer payments to users via chatbots. The solution, which will use chatbots on the Telegram service, is compatible with Mastercard, Visa and MIR card payments.
Sberbank partners will be able process both orders and payments through the Telegram bots.
Companies wanting to get involved can set up their own chatbot through an assistant program. The assistant, created via Telegram’s payments API ‘BotFather’, will allow participants to select Sberbank as their payment provide.
Telegram, which has around 100 million active monthly users, has come in for criticism in the past for its encryption method.
www.ibsintelligence.com | © IBS Intelligence 2017
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