Under the terms of the agreement, the service is set to enable MTN users to send and receive Western Union money transfer transactions via their MTN Mobile Money accounts.
How it works
Once the service is activated, MTN Mobile Money users are expected to receive Western Union money transfer transactions in their mobile accounts. In addition, Mobile Money users in several countries will be allowed to send Western Union money transfer transactions directly from their mobile phones for payout at one of Western Union’s 386,000 agent locations in 200 countries.
The service is set to allow MTN customers to use the received funds to pay bills, top-up airtime, send money domestically and internationally, as well as withdraw cash at Mobile Money agents or participating ATMs.
The international mobile remittance service is firstly expected to be made available for Uganda’s 1 million MTN Mobile Money users. MTN’s Mobile Money service is currently available in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda, with pilots underway in several other markets. MTN offers the service in partnership with local banks.
Western Union offers the mobile money transfer service in Kenya, in partnership with local mobile network operator Safaricom; in Malaysia with local communication and internet technology provider Maxis; and in Philippines with local mobile services provider Smart Communications and local telecommunications company Globe Telecom.
More recently, Western Union has announced a partnership with Canadian m-commerce company EnStream for local consumers. The company has also inked other agreements with financial services providers in Tunisia, Libya and South Africa.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now