By Business AM
Africa’s largest payment gateway, MFS Africa, has partnered with Western Union to enable individuals and businesses across the continent to receive money from over 200 countries and territories.
The partnership will enable funds to be sent from countries around the world to mobile wallets across Africa through the organisation’s licensed payment rails which will first commence in Madagascar, and eventually to other countries across the continent.
Kumar Shourav, managing director, MTOs at MFS Africa described the partnership as an unprecedented one in the industry, with huge potential benefits, value, and impact implications in the long run.
“At MFS Africa, we have always believed in making payments as simple as possible. Payment infrastructures globally have traditionally remained fragmented and local in nature. Africa’s 54 countries are diverse not just in terms of population, development levels, growth rates, and stability but with payment infrastructure and regulations as well,” he said.
Shourav, while acknowledging Western Union as a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, said the partnership will enable both organisations to provide customers, businesses and Global Development Organisations across the world with access to convenient payout options in Africa.
This, according to him, will foster better integration between Africa and the rest of the world and will go a long way in supporting financial inclusion across the continent. He added that “Africa’s fast-growing populations and markets present important opportunities for businesses and individuals in an environment of slowing global growth.
“Similarly, Western Union’s ethos is based on empowering the aspiring populations of the world with accessible financial tools to improve the lives of their loved ones and communities,” he said.
Hassan Chatila, global head of account payout network, Western Union, said Western Union aims to be the global leader in providing accessible financial services to the world’s populations and, in turn, increase global financial inclusion.
“Our efforts to drive global financial inclusion means delivering on customer needs today and into the future. Through our partnership with MFS Africa, we are excited to come together and deliver on our joint commitment to bring innovative solutions for customers as they support their families and accelerate their momentum up the economic ladder,” he added.
On his part, Mohamed Touhami El Ouazzani, regional vice president of Africa, Western Union, said Innovation, commitment to customer focus and financial inclusion are at the heart of everything the company does.
“We are deeply committed to the region and remain focused on advancing cross-border money movement solutions for the people in this region, their communities as well as the broader economy. Through our collaboration with MFS Africa, we look forward to achieving our common critical role in getting money to the places where and when it is most needed,” he added.
MFS Africa, in a statement, said its full-service digital payments network connects over 400 million mobile money wallets, over 200 million bank accounts across Africa, and over 200,000 agents in Nigeria, to enable cross-platform and cross-border payments for remittance companies, mobile network operators, banks, non-bank financial institutions and global merchants.
The organisation is also reputed to have more than a decade worth of experience in navigating the challenging Africa payments landscape, while Its direct relationship with mobile wallet players, banks, cash pick up networks and regulators on the continent has seen a strong performance in the industry.
