Airtel Money Africa, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has strengthened its collaboration with pawaPay, a leading mobile money payment service provider, to enhance cross-border payment capabilities. This expanded alliance is designed to enable seamless international remittances for licensed international money transfer operators (IMTOs) across seven of Airtel’s key African markets.
The renewed partnership marks the official launch of pawaPay’s inbound remittance service in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania. Leveraging pawaPay’s highly reliable platform, with an uptime of 99.9%, IMTOs can now directly deliver funds to over 161 million Airtel Money customers. This milestone builds on five years of successful cooperation between the two companies in domestic mobile money services. By integrating pawaPay’s infrastructure, which processes more than four million transactions daily, Airtel Money Africa will streamline and strengthen its back-end operations.
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Ian Ferrao, CEO, Airtel Money Africa, said:
“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.”
Nikolai Barnwell, CEO, pawaPay, added:
“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.”
Remittances remain a critical lifeline in Africa, sustaining families, fueling entrepreneurship, and driving financial inclusion. This collaboration promises secure, instant mobile wallet transactions, an essential element of the continent’s fast-growing digital economy. Following the initial rollout, pawaPay aims to expand this service to additional Airtel Money Africa markets.
