Cross-border remittances set to get easier in East Africa

Pan-African operator Bharti Airtel, which has operations in 20 African and Asian countries, is set to launch the pilot phase of a cross-border money transfer product in East Africa on 1 November. The initiative is the first of its kind in Africa, and will allow Airtel Money customers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda to transact across borders.

The process of removing barriers to mobile money transactions has been stepped up in the last few months, with Airtel again playing a role in the launch of an inter-operable service in Tanzania. Airtel and Tigo partnered for a cross-network transfer service that allows customers to send money to any recipient regardless of what company they hold their mobile wallet with. Read more