As the demand for fast, highly secure, and seamless virtual payments solutions continues to rise, Mastercard (NYSE: MA) has teamed up with Home Remitt in order to support migrants residing in South Africa by safely sending funds in near real-time to their friends and family members back home.
This secure and dependable service will aim to provide consumers an opportunity to save on the increasing remittance payments costs that presently characterize the global cross-border payments sector.
Via this strategic partnership, Home Remitt integrated Mastercard Cross-Border Services into its funds’ transfer service, offering migrants an economical way to send money to various bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash pick up locations in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Pakistan, with other countries to be supported in the foreseeable future.
The World Bank notes that South Africa remains the most costly G20 nation from which to send funds from with the average cost being around 14.56% of the total transaction amount. In general, a lack of transparency around fees and other charges as well as the uncertainty around speed has meant that many consumers still choose to actually travel back home in-person or use informal methods to send money instead of depending on formal cross-border payment options.
Via the Home Remitt service, clients can take advantage of affordable transaction costs, and more peace of mind as the service is reportedly backed by a trusted brand. Recipients need not wait for several business days in order to get their payment.
Mohamed Cajee, MD at Home Remitt, said that the partnership with Mastercard represents a gateway for entering the strategic market:
“Our partnership with Mastercard comes at a time when there is a growing need for people to adopt new technologies and embrace digital money transfer to get vital funds back home – something that has only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to support the evolving needs of our customers as we develop and implement new technology to deliver a safe, convenient and affordable remittance service.”
Home Remitt has reportedly joined a fast-growing list of partners that are working cooperatively with Mastercard to provide consumers with a more certain way to make payments and also to get paid internationally.
This key partnership aims to support Mastercard’s multi-rail proposition – which involves enabling individuals and business organizations with sending funds how, where and when they decide to do so.
Mastercard Cross-Border Services is connecting 90% of the global population through bank accounts, online wallets, payment cards and cash agents, all via a secure point of access.
In order to sign up for this service, clients just have to download the Home Remitt App via Google Play or through the App Store, and finish the registration process.