Airtel Money Africa Expands pawaPay Partnership to Boost Cross-Border Payments
The collaboration officially marks the launch of pawaPay's service for inbound remittances in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania.
In a move set to bolster cross-border payments, Airtel Money Africa , the mobile money division of Airtel Africa , has forged an expanded alliance with pawaPay , a leading mobile money payment service provider. This renewed partnership is specifically designed to facilitate seamless international remittances for licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) across seven key African markets where Airtel operates.
The collaboration officially marks the launch of pawaPay’s service for inbound remittances in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania. By leveraging pawaPay’s robust and highly available platform, which boasts a 99.9% uptime, IMTOs can now efficiently and directly deliver funds to the more than 161 million customers who use Airtel Money. This development is built upon a foundation of five years of successful collaboration between the two companies on domestic mobile money services. The expansion will simplify and fortify Airtel Money Africa’s back-end processes, utilizing pawaPay’s infrastructure, which processes over four million transactions daily.
“We’re pleased to expand our partnership with pawaPay to advance international remittances across Africa. Their proven reliability and commitment to African consumers make them an ideal partner. This integration empowers International Money Transfer Operators to securely connect with Airtel Money’s growing footprint, delivering real-time payments that support financial inclusion and economic growth.”
– Ian Ferrao, CEO, Airtel Money Africa
“Our mission is to simplify payments for businesses in Africa, and remittances are pivotal. Deepening our relationship with Airtel Money allows International Money Transfer Operators to leverage our world-class infrastructure for seamless cross-border payments.”
– Nikolai Barnwell, CEO, pawaPay
The partnership’s focus on remittances underscores their vital role in the African economy, where they are a crucial lifeline for millions, supporting families, enabling entrepreneurship, and fostering financial inclusion. This collaboration is expected to ensure secure, instant mobile wallet transactions, a key element in driving Africa’s burgeoning digital economy. Following this initial rollout, pawaPay plans to extend this capability to more Airtel Money Africa markets in the near future.
