By Dipo Olowookere
Morocco-based financial services company, Wafacash, is scaling up operations with leading digital money transfer service, WorldRemit, to offer instant money transfers across West and Central Africa.
The companies already work together in Morocco and Senegal, but will expand into Cameroon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Cote D’Ivoire before the end of the year.
The new service will let WorldRemit customers in over 50 countries transfer money as easily as sending an instant message, using the app or website.
WorldRemit’s digital, mobile-first model significantly improves security and compliance standards. Senders no longer need to visit a bricks and mortar agent, which can be inconvenient and time consuming – often forcing hard working migrants to take time off work to stand in line.
Wafacash is a subsidiary of Attijariwafa Bank, one of Africa’s major banking institutions. It has a reputation for excellent customer service, and ambitious regional growth plans. The company currently has pay-out points at Wafacash offices and Attijariwafa Bank branches and agents, enabling customers to pick up funds quickly and conveniently.
Remittances in the region have experienced a decade of strong growth, amounting to a projected $34 billion across Sub-Saharan Africa in 2017.
According to the World Bank, the value of remittances to Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal grew by an estimated 86%, 130% and 74% respectively, between 2006 and 2015.
Morocco alone received over $7 billion in 2015 according to the World Bank, the equivalent of 7% of its GDP.
Samira Khamlichi, Chief Executive at Wafacash, comments: “By extending our partnership with WorldRemit we wish to contribute to the improvement of the financial inclusion in our country and to the diversification of legal financial channels.
“Our extended partnership will allow WorldRemit customers in over 50 countries to send money to our cash pick up locations across the region. This is only the beginning, as together with WorldRemit we will explore many other countries and horizons because our main objective is to better cater to the needs of our clients and business partners.”
Ismail Ahmed says, Founder and CEO at WorldRemit, added: “We are delighted our partnership with Wafacash is growing. We have a shared vision that money transfers should be as safe, fast and low-cost as possible. This expansion means more cash pickup points in the region, making our service even more convenient to our customers”.
In June WorldRemit announced a global integration with Google’s Android Pay, followed by a partnership with Huawei’s mobile money platform across Africa. WorldRemit customers now complete 700,000 transfers every month from more than 50 send countries to over 140 receiving destinations.
Adedapo Adesanya