Africa-based FinTech Mukuru, has partnered with global payments network Thunes. The partnership will initially extend Mukuru’s reach in Nigeria followed by a rapid rollout to other countries including DRC, Ethiopia, Senegal and India as well as connect Mukuru users to Thunes’ global interoperable network which operates in more than 100 countries.
Andy Jury, CEO, Mukuru, said: “Our partnerships continue to be a source of both innovation and growth across our network, with our homegrown technology solutions continually evolving to meet the day-to-day needs of our customers. We meet customers wherever they are, which today includes a variety of both physical and digital touchpoints across Africa, Europe and Asia.”
According to the FinTech, its business in South Africa was initially launched in 2010 as a joint venture with Inter-Africa, a Bureau de Change. Two years later, Mukuru created a free customer USSD platform, splitting a transaction into its various parts. Customers after creating an order, had a reference number texted to them, which they presented at a retail partner where they paid for the order in cash. PEP was Mukuru’s first retail partner in South Africa.
Other partnerships have followed with the likes of retail giant Shoprite/Checkers as payin/payout points, and in the last 12 months, Mukuru became a payout partner for WorldRemit customers across territories where Mukuru has its own booth and branch network. Mukuru has also partnered with the likes of Ozow which enables customers to make easy payments using the Mukuru App and Flash aimed at senders in South Africa who can now send money to their loved ones by paying for their orders at any of Flash’s 175,000 vendors across South Africa.
Obey Itai Domingo, Business Development Director, Thunes SADC, said: “Thunes is leading the way in building a global cross-border payments network with real-time transaction processing. Our coverage across Africa, Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific (APAC) gives our customers the most accessible, fast and reliable interoperable local payment solutions around the world.”
The upheavals and opportunities of the last 12 months have highlighted the importance of strong payment system interoperability that enables the scalability of digital remittance channels. The main point of congruence between Mukuru and Thunes is the use of technology that supports interoperability using highly automated, scalable platforms with modular APIs.