By Ayomide Otitoju
Airtel Money Africa, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has announced an expanded partnership with Africa’s largest mobile money payment service provider, pawaPay, to enhance cross-border payment capabilities for licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) across seven African markets.
The collaboration launches pawaPay’s inbound remittance service for Airtel Money customers in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania. It enables IMTOs to deliver funds directly into over 161 million Airtel Money wallets, leveraging pawaPay’s high-reliability platform, which boasts 99.9% uptime and processes more than four million transactions daily.
The expansion builds on a five-year domestic mobile money partnership, strengthening Airtel Money Africa’s backend systems with pawaPay’s scalable payment infrastructure.
“We’re pleased to expand our partnership with pawaPay to advance international remittances across Africa,” said Airtel Money Africa CEO Ian Ferrao. “Their proven reliability and commitment to African consumers make them an ideal partner. This integration empowers IMTOs to securely connect with Airtel Money’s growing footprint, delivering real-time payments that support financial inclusion and economic growth.”
pawaPay CEO Nikolai Barnwell described the move as a significant step in the company’s mission to simplify payments for businesses in Africa. “Remittances are pivotal, and deepening our relationship with Airtel Money allows IMTOs to leverage our world-class infrastructure for seamless cross-border payments,” he said.
Remittances are a vital lifeline for millions of Africans, supporting households, entrepreneurship, and access to financial services. The partnership will ensure secure, instant wallet-to-wallet transactions, contributing to Africa’s expanding digital economy.
