Off the wire
• Chinese embassy hands over humanitarian assistance to Vanuatu Red Cross  • Kenyan court quashes injunction orders against KPL  • 1st LD Writethru-China Focus: China's holiday passengers up 3.5 pct to 2.81 bln  • Asteroid named after Chinese aerospace scientist  • Poll of perches as Britain votes to find its national bird  • Russia vows to make 2018 FIFA World Cup "world's best"  • One leftist rebel killed, another captured in S. Philippines  • Houthi militia releases Yemen PM, ministers from house arrest  • Finland's major retail group sells two department store chains  • Philippine gov't defends Muslim rebel leaders' citizenship  
You are here: 　 Home

African mobile firm expands cross-border money transfer service

Xinhua, March 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Telecommunications firm, Airtel Africa, on Monday announced the launch of a cross-border money- transfer service for customers between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia and Rwanda.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the mobile firm, which operates in 17 countries across Africa, said the service will facilitate increased remittances and regional trades at very low cost with ubiquitous distribution network.

"This offering will raise the level of convenience in cross- border payments across the three countries with a ubiquitous Airtel Money agency network and highly competitive fee structure," said Christian de Faria, CEO of Airtel Africa.

He said Airtel was committed to deepening financial inclusion and regional trade opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, and Airtel Money offers a secure, cost-effective and quick way of helping the communities enhance both trade and personal financial transactions.

The average fee to remit money in Africa is the highest of any region in the world, and it is cited by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) as lying anywhere between 12 percent to 20 percent.

The World Bank recently reported that an additional 4 billion U. S. dollars could go into the hands of Africans if international remittance fees fell to 5 percent, adding further to the positive social and economic impacts of remittances as a source of income.

The CEO also lauded the respective central banks in DRC, Rwanda and Zambia for their unwavering support for this initiative and commitment towards ensuring the long-term success of the service. Endi