Remittances are seeing a global boost in digital payments even while the physical ones decreased as the pandemic set in. Remitly, focused on remittances, raised $85 million for its business, while other companies like MoneyGram and Western Union are readying themselves for what could be a major, permanent shift in how money moves across borders. Digital payments have been favored as of late, as people avoid going out to public spaces due to the coronavirus. More and more fintech firms are trying to catch the digital wave and new alliances are being formed some of which are as under:
UK-based fintech company paysend partners with Alipay
UK-based fintech company Paysend has partnered with Alipay to provide its users with a cross-border money transfer capability. The agreement is a step forward towards creating a more inclusive and accessible global money transfer market, as Alipay, China’s largest mobile payments business operated by Ant Group, currently serves about 1.3 billion users around the world together with its local e-wallet partners. Moreover, Paysend is licensed and regulated by FCA in the UK and already services over 2 million customers in over 45 countries. Under the partnership, Paysend will facilitate overseas users to send money across borders through licensed banks in China, with the funds reaching bank accounts linked to the Alipay app. Therefore, the company expects the collaboration to benefit migrant workers around the world, particularly in Asia, where it has a foothold in the money transfer market through local partners. Furthermore, Paysend has its own global network of banks, international, and local payment systems, and has partnerships with the major international card networks Visa, Mastercard, and China Union Pay as a principal member and certified processor.
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Terrapay and Bank Alfalah team up to offer remittance payment services in Pakistan
Bank Alfalah is one of the largest private banks in Pakistan, with an international presence in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bahrain and the UAE. Terrapay, a global payments infrastructure company from Holland, move funds in real-time. It means that customers will be able to use its network to instantly deposit money to any bank account in Pakistan. The partnership reinforces the bank’s commitment to facilitating overseas partners; including fintechs, money transfer operators and money service businesses engaged in cross-border remittances.
Worldremit agrees to purchase sendwave
WorldRemit, a digital cross-border payments company, has agreed to purchase Sendwave, a company specializing in remittances. Sendwave specializes in its own digital remittance service, which has seen growth as of late in its home market of Africa, and the company wants to expand its services to Asia and Latin America. Sendwave, despite the acquisition, will operate on its own and retain control of its own mobile applications, brand, management, employees and key parties. WorldRemit has one of the broadest and most accessible networks for money transfers globally. Combining it with Sendwave, which offers instant, no/[low]-fee and fully digital payments from North America and Europe to Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and East Africa, addresses customer needs for fast and secure digital payments.
[box type=”note” align=”” class=”” width=””]The writer is a Karachi based freelance columnist and is a banker by profession. He could be reached on Twitter @ReluctantAhsan[/box]