MTN MoMo launches remittance service in Nigeria

MTN Nigeria's fintech business, MoMo PSB, has introduced its new outbound and inbound remittance service, allowing customers in Nigeria to transfer money to 13 different African nations.

This service will allow Nigerian users to transfer money directly to Benin, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Côte d'Ivoire, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), The Gambia, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.

Furthermore, Nigerian users can also receive money from six African countries including South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, DRC, and Mauritius.

According to the telco, MoMo PSB users can send and receive funds instantly, with the transaction amount automatically converted to the recipient's local currency, and a 3% transaction fee will apply.

The MoMo PSB remittance service will also allow Nigerian users to receive money from six African countries. (Source: DilokaStudio on Freepik)

To use the outbound services, Nigerian customers can log into their MoMo account and tap on the 'Transfer to Africa' icon, or they can use the USSD code and enter the recipient's phone number with the country code.

Phrase Lubega, Acting CEO of MoMo PSB, said this was a significant development towards advancing economic empowerment, reducing trade barriers and bridging the financial gap in African nations.

"It's an exciting time for us at MoMo PSB as our customers can easily, and quite swiftly, make transactions across 13 African countries, and use our Gift Card service for international payments," Lubega added.

Related:MTN MoMo bank begins operations in Nigeria

MTN MoMo expands

MTN Nigeria's fintech arm has rapidly expanded since May 2022 when it received its final approval for a Payment Service Bank (PSB) license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The expansion is also largely due to Mastercard's US$200 million investment into MTN Group's fintech business in February 2024.

During that announcement, MTN Group said the commercial relationship was a key enabler for the acceleration of its fintech business' payments and remittance services.

The company's fintech business has also grown in other markets - in August 2023, MTN SA announced more MoMo services in South Africa including a business wallet, a streamlined payments feature and international remittances.

In March 2024, MTN Group and Mastercard launched a prepaid virtual bank card for MTN MoMo customers across 13 markets in Africa, as well as a physical Mastercard companion card.