Onafriq and Worldremit

WorldRemit Expands Mobile Money Transfers Across Africa Through Partnership with Onafriq

Leading digital money transfer service WorldRemit continues its rapid expansion in Africa, launching new international mobile money services through a partnership with pan-African fintech Onafriq.

This launch brings WorldRemit’s mobile money service to 5 new countries via Airtel in Malawi and Niger, Orange in Madagascar, Vodacom in Mozambique, and MTN in Guinea.

Reaching More Users with Instant, Low-Cost Transfers

WorldRemit’s mobile-first, digital model saves customers time and money as they don’t need to visit a money transfer agent to send funds home to their loved ones. Using the WorldRemit app or website, the diaspora living in over 50 countries can now send instant, low-cost money transfers at any time to 15 million mobile money users across the 5 countries.

Global Network and Expansion in Africa

WorldRemit is the leading digital remittance company connected to 190 million mobile money accounts globally. With this new announcement, WorldRemit is connected to 39 mobile money services in 29 countries. Almost half of its transfers to Africa go to mobile money services.

Connecting Africa with Real-Time Transactions

Oanfriq is Africa’s largest digital payments hub, connecting over 200 million mobile wallets on the continent. Through a single API, MFS Africa connects mobile wallet systems, banks, money transfer operators, and merchants to enable real-time, cross-border, and cross-network transactions.

Affordable and Accessible Remittances

Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of Onafriq, said: “Our mission at Onafriq is to bring down the costs of remittances into and within Africa, and we achieve that by leveraging the power of mobile money and digital payments. WorldRemit is known as a leader among the new generation of digital-first money transfer operators, and we’re thrilled to be a partner in their expansion strategy. We are looking forward to growing our networks together to help reach more users with more affordable and accessible remittance services.”

The Cost of Sending Money to Africa

According to the World Bank, remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa increased by over 9.6% from 2017 to 2018, reaching $46 billion. However, the region is still the most expensive in the world to send money to, with an average cost of 9.3 percent.

Supporting Financial Inclusion Across Africa

Andrew Stewart, Managing Director of WorldRemit for the Middle East and Africa, comments: "WorldRemit is committed to supporting financial inclusion across Africa by enabling the unbanked populations to receive money directly into their mobile wallets, without the need for a bank account. Our partnership with Onafriq helps us accelerate our financial inclusion mission while expanding our footprint across the continent. Our best-in-class service offers convenience and peace of mind to over 4 million customers worldwide. Over 90% of WorldRemit transactions are authorised within 10 minutes and customers can track their money’s journey in real-time using our ‘Track your Transfer’ function.”