Africa-Press – Rwanda. Adapting to digital life is the new normal following the disruptive effects of the global covid-19 pandemic that begun spreading across the world from china about two years ago.
The most interesting transformations the global societies have witnessed include the unavoidable electronic money transfers which for example the Rwanda government made mandatory during the lockdowns as part of preventing further spread of the virus.
The Covid-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for a period of turbo-charged growth as people scrambled for alternative ways to send money across the globe.
Taarifa held an exclusive interview with Carine umurerwa, worldremit country manager, Rwanda and explored various items in this digital money transfer domain. Carine umurerwa, worldremit country manager, Rwanda
Electronic payments in Rwanda have grown to over 400%. Are you tapping into this opportunity?
WorldRemit witnessed a growth spurt driven by the need for money transfer options as restrictions on movement and national lockdowns led to bank closures, effectively crippling most traditional remittance platforms. WorldRemit transfers were, however, sustained through the mobile-to-mobile service, which had been popularised across Africa prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. This allowed for a safe and seamless transfer of funds to mobile wallets throughout the continent. In this period, we have witnessed activity across our mobile platforms in Rwanda (MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money), one of our newest markets, as well as neighboring Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya.
Despite the swift electronic transfers of money, there are high costs attached to such services. What is being done to address such exorbitant costs.
As electronic payment technology improves, the costs associated with transfers fall. We have certainly seen this at WorldRemit, where fees for transfers have declined as the benefits of new technological efficiencies continue to improve our customers’ experience. As confirmed by the World Bank, WorldRemit is on average 25% cheaper than our competitors. We went even further in 2020, re-pricing our services across the board to help alleviate the financial difficulties that our customers were facing. This enabled our customers, including those in Rwanda, to send and receive money without worrying about prohibitive charges.
Security of electronic money and associated transfers remain a big trap for hackers. What safety measures are in place?
Hacking and other forms of online crime remain a risk. Customers’ security is of utmost importance. we have invested in technology and people to ensure that money transfers via WorldRemit are secure. For example, our website and apps are designed to prevent accounts from unauthorised login attempts. We also have strict verification processes to ensure that we correctly identify all of our customers and have a team of dedicated analysts who monitor transactions for signs of unusual activity.
What about the challenge of internet penetration and affordability especially in Africa?
In Rwanda the government has digital inclusion at the centre of its development agenda, boosting the growth prospects of players in the digital services sector. By January 2021, Rwanda internet penetration was at 31.4%, a figure that is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years as connectivity infrastructure is built and smartphone uptake grows. We predict the cost of the internet will drop as connectivity deepens, allowing us to increase our reach around the country.
The 2021 GSMA Report, notes that internet penetration in Africa is growing rapidly with 39% of people expected to have internet access by 2025, up from 28% in 20202. Penetration will continue to increase as the cost of smartphones falls.
Under this pandemic, how have you maintained your relationships with banks yet they were severely affected.
While banks remained operational throughout the pandemic, local restrictions and lockdowns meant that people’s ability to pick-up cash in person was limited. We had anticipated such shocks to the industry and worked with our partners to develop products that are not tied to physical spaces. What most people don’t realise is that our digital money remittance services are enabled through bank-administered interchanges and switches. Consequently, as our business grows, so does that of partnering banks. As many bank services collapsed in the face of the pandemic, our remittance products offered a lifeline to our partners across the world.
What strategies are in store to beat the effects of the pandemic on your services?
As the global recovery gathers pace, we intend to accelerate investments that increase access to our services. We want to ensure that everyone in Africa sees WorldRemit as an affordable, efficient and secure platform for money transfer. In Kenya, for example, we recently launched a partnership with Airtel Money that allows the company’s customers to receive money from over 50 countries across the globe. We intend to leverage such partnerships and synergies across our markets to bring our services within easy reach of all Africans.
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