Airtel Money Africa, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, has expanded its alliance with pawaPay to streamline cross-border remittances for licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs). The renewed partnership launches pawaPay’s inbound remittance service in Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania, unlocking real-time wallet deposits for 161 million+ Airtel Money customers.
Why this partnership matters
Remittances are a critical lifeline for millions across the continent—supporting families, powering small businesses, and accelerating financial inclusion. By integrating pawaPay’s 99.9% uptime platform with Airtel Money’s footprint, IMTOs can route funds directly to mobile wallets with fewer hops, lower failure rates, and instant settlement. For end users, that means faster access to funds; for IMTOs and enterprises, it means dependable rails built for scale and compliance.
What’s under the hood
This expansion builds on five years of collaboration between Airtel Money and pawaPay on domestic mobile-money services. pawaPay’s infrastructure processes 4+ million transactions daily, providing the resiliency Airtel Money needs to simplify back-end operations and deliver consistently high authorization and completion rates. The result: IMTOs get a single, reliable connection to multiple markets; customers get a frictionless, real-time experience.
“This integration empowers IMTOs to securely connect with Airtel Money’s growing footprint, delivering real-time payments that support financial inclusion and economic growth.” — Ian Ferrao, CEO, Airtel Money Africa
“Deepening our relationship with Airtel Money lets IMTOs leverage our world-class infrastructure for seamless cross-border payments.” — Nikolai Barnwell, CEO, pawaPay
Markets covered at launch
- East Africa: Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania
- Southern Africa: Zambia, Malawi
- Central/West-Central Africa: Gabon, Congo Brazzaville
What’s next
Following this initial rollout, pawaPay intends to extend inbound remittance capability to additional Airtel Money markets. With robust, API-driven rails and a footprint reaching over 161 million customers, the partners are positioned to become a go-to corridor for secure, instant, and scalable mobile-money remittances across Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.
