Telecommunications group, Airtel Africa has partnered with cross-border payments and transfers provider MoneyGram to expand its mobile money service. This initiative will allow millions of Airtel customers to transfer and receive funds through MoneyGram around the world straight into their mobile money wallets on their phone; the balance can then be converted to cash at any of Airtel Africa’s branches or agents.

The key to the partnership is the maximizing of access to global remittances, which is a good opportunity for Airtel Africa to expand its mobile money services, and financial inclusion, throughout the continent.

If these services pass local regulatory approvals, Airtel will be able to extend the range and depth of Airtel Money offerings, driving customer acquisition. It remains to be seen how other competitors, such as Vodacom, will react to this and whether they too will look for similar partnerships to booster their offerings.