Sasai Money Transfer, a business of Cassava Technologies and one of the fastest-growing international money transfer operators has partnered with Airtel Money to expand its revolutionary offer of free remittances to more African markets. The zero fees initiative, which was first launched in May 2024 by Sasai Money Transfer in partnership with Econet in Zimbabwe, is now being expanded with Airtel Money starting with Uganda, before being extended to other high-traffic remittance Airtel markets such as Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia.
“We have partnered with Sasai Money Transfer on their innovative initiative that aligns with our agenda of ensuring financial inclusivity for all Ugandans,” said Mr. Japhet Aritho, Managing Director of Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited. “This offer brings even more value to our customers, coinciding with our big consumer promotion, Vroomula Amajja, which offers customers a chance to win daily cash prizes, weekly Boda-Boda prizes, and a Toyota Rav4 Hybrid by simply receiving remittances into their Airtel Money wallet.”
Sasai Fintech CEO, Mr. Darlington Mandivenga said the partnership with Airtel Money Uganda offers an important avenue into one of Africa’s largest remittance markets.
“As Sasai, this is where we want to be, ensuring we reach as many people as possible and ultimately leave no African behind,” Mandivenga said in a press statement —adding “We are in a competitively unique position where we have been able to utilize our source market assets, operational efficiencies, and group synergies while collaborating with like-minded partners such as Airtel Money to deliver innovative offerings.”
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This innovative offering eliminates remittance sending fees for users of the Sasai Money Transfer service in the United Kingdom and South Africa sending money to family, friends, business partners, etc in Uganda. The partnership with Airtel Money Uganda ensures that the recipient also enjoys similar benefits by cashing out their funds for free from their Airtel Money wallet. Overall, this end-to-end customer proposition offers unique benefits of improved access and affordability to both the sender and receiver.
The current reality in the African context is that informal remittances are still prevalent exceeding the volume of formal remittances flowing through official channels. This high level of informality presents a challenge for African migrants many of whom end up losing their hard-earned money to unscrupulous intermediaries. In line with the vision of a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind, Sasai is leading the charge of digitizing and formalizing remittances and making the services more accessible and affordable for all Africans. The goal is to close the gap between formal and informal money transfers and ensure that no one is excluded from these essential services.
The zero fees initiative by Sasai marks another first in the remittances industry, where a money transfer operator has effectively collaborated with mobile money operators to focus on a single goal: making money transfer services more affordable. In an industry where fees can be as high as 13%, the zero fees initiative holds enormous long-term potential to contribute to the formalization of international money transfers, the bulk of which still flow through unsafe and unreliable informal channels.
See also: OP-ED: mobile money taxation could hamper financial inclusion gains in Africa
