4 companies heading the cross border payments space in Africa

By Edlyn Cardoza

Today the world is increasingly connected, thanks to the internet. As a result, cross border payments have become an essential aspect of payments. Over time, payments digitally transformed to make cross border payments easy for customers and B2B firms. Businesses seeking to expand internationally, whether to sell or buy products and services, can do so as multiple options are available for sending and receiving payments.

Africa is currently booming with payment gateways. But few companies are looking for ways to connect Africa with the rest of the world. A study by Pew Research Remittance showed that 8 out of the 10 fastest-growing populations of expats are nationals of the countries from the sub-Saharan Africa region. The increase in population could be one of the reasons why cross border payments will increase in demand in the future.

There has been a rise in the demand for online money transfers as African consumers are becoming comfortable with digital payment solutions. FinTechs are at the forefront of making these cross border payments in Africa seamless and easy.

Below are 4 companies heading the cross border payments space in Africa:

• Dahabshiil

Dahabshiil, an indigenous African company, was founded in 1970. It was set up as a new remittance venture to enable migrants to send money to family and friends back in the countries of East Africa. Dahabshiil has grown to be the largest African money transfer business operating in 126 countries across the world, 40 of which are in Africa. It remains a business committed to its original values of trust, reliability, integrity and customer focus.

Dahabshill is very strong in rural communities. As well as enabling Africa’s very poorest people to survive, Dahabshiil allows others to invest and create jobs, contributing to growth on the continent.

• Mama Money

Mama Money is a rapidly growing, innovative tech company and the world’s first Social Business Money Transfer Operator. Mama provides an easy, safe, low-cost way for foreign nationals to send money home to support their families. Their mobile application is easy-to-use and allows our customers to send money to their loved ones through a vast payout network that’s continuously expanding. Rather than looking at profit-maximisation, Mama aims to directly assist people who don’t earn a lot by lowering the cost of cross border payments.

Mama Money was built to help African and Asian expats who left their homes and communities search for better opportunities. Social upliftment through financial inclusion is the core belief of Mama Money, and this drives us to keep growing and innovating.

• MFS Africa

MFS Africa connects mobile money users and service providers, providing access to simple, secure, affordable, and compliant mobile financial solutions for all. They believe in open access for all and are driven to make borders matter less by connecting Africans to each other, SMMEs, and the global digital economy. MFS African has already integrated into PAPSS and is primed to provide greater access to other FinTech, e-commerce, finance institutions and mobile wallets to reach the entire continent. Mobile wallets can be harnessed to power-up cross border remittances and to process payments by companies for supplies or stock.

MFS Africa provides access through its cross border payment switch that connects 320 million mobile wallets across 30 African markets. They operate across more than 600 payment corridors on the continent, making cross border payments seamless and remittances ubiquitous. SMEs, merchants, mobile companies, and financial institutions also have the chance to scale up access across the continent by partnering with MFS Africa and our ready presence in much of the continent. MFS Africa believes that there should be no barrier to selling services from one African country to the other. The key is to have a payment partner that makes cross border payments as simple as making a phone call – and selling one’s services just as easily.

• Paga Group

Paga Group is a payments and financial services ecosystem for Africa. They focus on helping consumers and sellers pay, get paid, and access financial services. They also offer their platform as a service to third-party partners. Millions of Nigerians trust Paga with their money. They ensure your money is safe by complying with the highest global security standards. Banked or unbanked, online or offline, Paga offers a central place for simple money transfers. You can send money instantly to anyone with a phone number, email address or bank account.

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