Huawei, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer and ICT solutions firm, and WorldRemit, a digital money transfer business, have joined forces in the African context, allowing Huawei to offer WorldRemit’s international money transfer service to their African customers.
Mobile money services have gained great traction across Africa, with a large unbanked population in many parts of the continent able to transact via their mobile phones.
The partnership between Huawei and WorldRemit will see the mobile money remittance industry in Africa strengthened for millions who rely on the services to send or receive money on a consistent basis.
The ready-made solution from WorldRemit will be added to Huawei’s existing service offering, benefitting over 100 million mobile accounts that are currently connected to Huawei’s platform, according to ITNewsAfrica.
The partnership was announced at the GSMA’s Mobile 360 conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
David Chen, vice-president of Huawei Southern Africa, explained that his company’s African customers will now have access to international remittances thanks to the partnership.
“International remittance is a very important mobile money service in Africa, and our partnership with WorldRemit will bring international remittances directly to Huawei’s customers across the continent,” said Chen in a statement, CNBCAfrica noted.
“Huawei is committed to providing advanced mobile money platforms and technologies to global mobile money operators,” he added.
African mobile operators who are partnered with Huawei will now benefit from WorldRemit’s technical integration, removing an obstacle that frequently hinders operators from offering remittance services.
Founder and chief executive officer of WorldRemit, Ismail Ahmed was pleased to have partnered with the Chinese smartphone giant in order to extend their reach on the African continent.
“We are delighted to add our remittance offering to Huawei’s extensive range of services for mobile money providers,” Ahmed commented, according to IOL.
“By making it easier to connect to our service, our partnership will accelerate our ability to introduce our safe, fast and low-cost remittance service to millions of people,” he said.
WorldRemit is responsible for processing 74 percent of all international transfers regarding mobile money accounts through money transfer operators, while Huawei’s mobile money services are popular as they work on both smartphones and feature phones, explaining the attraction in a developing market such as Africa.
