Airtel Money, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has extended its partnership with pawaPay, a mobile money payment service provider, to enhance cross-border remittances in seven African markets.
Airtel Money Africa’s Chief Executive Officer, Ian Ferrao, made this known in a statement on Monday.
Ferrao said the partnership would enable seamless inbound payments for licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) into Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville and Tanzania.
He said the arrangement would allow IMTOs to deliver funds directly to over 161 million Airtel Money wallets, leveraging pawaPay’s payment infrastructure with a 99.9 per cent platform uptime.
Ferrao added that the collaboration builds on a five-year domestic mobile money cooperation between the two companies.
He said the deal would support and secure real-time payments across the continent.
“We are pleased to expand our partnership with pawaPay to advance international remittances across Africa.
“This integration empowers IMTOs to securely connect with Airtel Money’s growing footprint, delivering real-time payments that support financial inclusion and economic growth,” he said.
Also, pawaPay Chief Executive Officer, Nikolai Barnwell, said the development aligned with the company’s mission to simplify payments for businesses in Africa.
“Remittances are pivotal for millions of Africans. Deepening our relationship with Airtel Money allows international money transfer operators to leverage our infrastructure for seamless cross-border payments,” Barnwell said.
He noted that the pawaPay planned to expand to other African markets soon.