Zain and Western Union partner for cross-border money transfers in Africa

The customers of Zap m-banking of Middle East and African mobile telecommunications provider, Zain, will be offered the opportunity to receive cross-border money transfers. This option is to be proposed in cooperation with Western Union.

The interaction with bank accounts, transfer of airtime and money are the services that Zain customers will enjoy with the help of Zap. Furthermore, customers can also pay their bills and settle grocery bills in the supermarket. People in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have been using the service for several months and enlargement of the service providing area into 22 markets is planned. 
 
The cooperation with the Western Union is highly appreciated by Zain who cites figures from the World Bank that show the receipt of around $10.8 billion in remittances in 2007 by Sub-Saharan Africa. Gail Galuppo, chief marketing officer of Western Union, expressed his desire to extend services throughout Africa.