Airtel Africa and Mastercard have started a service that lets Airtel mobile phone users in 14 African countries send and receive money across borders.
About 100 million mobile phone users in Africa who use Airtel Africa will benefit from the new service, which strengthens the partnership between Airtel Africa and Mastercard to improve the digital economy in Africa.
The new service would make it easier for mobile users of Airtel to do digital transactions across foreign borders. With this service, Airtel customers can connect to wallets in more than 145 countries. Letting people send and receive money from many different countries
Chad, Congo Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia have Airtel networks. The service will launch in these 14 countries.
Ian Ferraro, Airtel’s regional president in East Africa, said the cooperation with Mastercard will enable the mobile network provider to provide good international money transfer services. It would improve clients’ lives by providing digital banking solutions, he said. Because the new service is aimed at improving foreign money transfer services in African countries where it operates,
Ngozi Megwa, the senior vice president of MasterCard, said that the service will run smoothly and safely and that MasterCard has always been committed to Africa’s growth in the digital economy field.
Read also: Mastercard, Lipa Later Group introduce new payment systems in Africa
Africa needs digital payments
A survey found that many MasterCard consumers began overseas payments with mobile apps. Sending and receiving money through foreign mobile apps explains Africa’s high rate of digital money transfers.
Airtel and Mastercard’s cooperation gives Africans digital money and mobile banking. Accepting digital money improves economic growth, efficiency, and openness by making money easier to receive. If all sectors work together, Africa can accelerate digital payments and become a digital financial services leader.
Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa have built the infrastructure and legal systems needed for a sophisticated electronic payment system. These five countries will likely account for half of electronic payments in the future, with Nigeria’s 35% growth rate being the greatest. Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda will also increase by over 20% annually.
African banks processed $5 billion in mobile money transactions in 2012 and $60 billion in 2020. The number may skyrocket by 2023. The continent has around 330 million mobile money users. These data suggest that Africa’s digital payment industry has great potential.
Airtel’s internet economic role in Africa
In 2021, Airtel Africa invested in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV (AMC BV). The business said AMC BV would invest $200 million to buy Airtel Africa equity from a third party. Depending on closure conditions like filing with regulators, $150 million was spent in two parts at the conclusion of that year.
The full $50 million was invested in the second share after AMC BV received more mobile money operations and contracts.
Tanzania sold Airtel Africa Plc’s airwaves a few months ago. Airtel paid $60 million for 140 megahertz of 2600 and 3500 MHz airwaves from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). This builds mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband networks, including 5G, and gives the country vast capacity to keep up with its fast data growth.