WorldRemit launches Mobile Money transfers to Malawi

Digital money transfer service WorldRemit has launched instant overseas remittances to Mobile Money accounts in Malawi. With the WorldRemit app or website, customers can now securely send money transfers to any Airtel Money account in the country.

Mobile Money – which lets users send and receive money as well as pay for goods and services with their phones – is fast gaining traction in Malawi. In a country with low levels of banking penetration, there are now 2.5 million Mobile Money accounts.

WorldRemit now provides a way for Malawians in the diaspora to send remittances to the most popular Mobile Money service in Malawi, meaning their friends and family no longer have to make long, expensive journeys to pick up cash from money transfer agents.

WorldRemit is the leading sender of remittances to Mobile Money accounts, partnering with 34 services in 26 countries. Over half of WorldRemit's money transfers to Africa are now received on Mobile Money accounts.

Alix Murphy, senior mobile analyst at WorldRemit, comments: "Many Malawians rely on remittances sent by family members working overseas. With only 18% of Malawian adults holding formal bank accounts, the only option for most people was to travel to a money transfer agent to collect cash.

Through WorldRemit, Malawians can now receive those remittances directly on their phones, at any time of day or night, without needing to wait in line or worry about carrying a lot of cash. It's a dramatic shift in the way remittances are received around the world."

WorldRemit customers send 450,000 transfers every month.