Mama Money and AFC Commercial Bank partner for money transfers to Zimbabwe

Source: Supplied. Matthieu Coquillon and Raphael Grojnowski, co-founders of Mama Money.

This partnership allows Mama Money customers to easily send money to any AFC Commercial Bank branch for cash collection at 45 locations across Zimbabwe.

It’s estimated that the monthly remittance flows from South Africa to Zimbabwe range between $30 to $60m through both formal and informal channels and accounts for over 10% of the country’s GDP, according to the World Bank.

But the cost of sending money to Zimbabwe can significantly reduce the impact that remittances have as these funds are predominantly used for critical needs such as school fees, healthcare, and housing.

Tackling high money transfer costs

In 2015 the average cost of sending money from South Africa was 14%. This is the same year that Mama Money launched with a fee of just 5%. Today, the average cost of sending money from South Africa is 7%, which is much closer to the worldwide average of 6%.

Mama Money played a leading role in reducing the cost of money transfers from South Africa as the company’s founders, Raphael Grojnowski and Matthieu Coquillon, started the business to make a positive impact on the lives of under-served migrant communities in South Africa.

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Mama Money facilitates money transfers to over 50 countries across Africa, Asia and Europe. The fintech’s key markets for money transfers include Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It also offers banking services and money transfers to South Africa from Europe and other regions.

Nicolas Vonthron, chief executive officer at Mama Money said: “We have made a lot of progress in bringing down the cost of money transfers, but there is still more we can do to support the Zimbabwean community in South Africa.

"We want to reduce the cost even further and offer a super reliable service. Our partnership with AFC Commercial Bank will help us achieve this and we’re extremely excited to see the impact this will have for people who need an easier way to send money to Zimbabwe.”

Global expansion goals

Our goal when the company started, was to bring down the cost of money transfers. We feel that we have achieved this, and now want to reduce the cost even more as we expand and launch our services in more countries around the world.”

“We feel we have made a lot of progress in bringing the price down. There’s a lot more we want to do to support the Zimbabwe community in South Africa."

Ken Chitando, managing director at AFC Commercial Bank added: “With our extensive network in Zimbabwe, it is very easy and convenient for recipients to collect their cash no matter where they are in the country, and we are continuously expanding our network.

"We are confident that this relationship will add convenience to all our customers as we expand our financial services countrywide."

Together, Mama Money and AFC Commercial Bank are improving access to critical financial services in under-served communities in both South Africa and Zimbabwe by making it easier, faster, and more affordable to send and receive money.