MFS Africa, a leading pan-African digital payments network, has formed a partnership with Mvola, a major mobile money provider in Madagascar.
This collaboration aims to facilitate inbound international money transfers, promoting financial inclusion and economic development in Madagascar.
As part of this partnership, MFS Africa will become the first aggregator to integrate with Telma’s mobile money wing, Mvola.
Telma is one of Madagascar’s leading Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) with a 70% market share.
This integration will enable the seamless transfer of remittances from Europe, the US, and the UK. It will also facilitate MNO-to-MNO remittances from Africa to Madagascar.
Nika Naghavi, Group Head of Growth at MFS Africa, stated that providing financial services in Madagascar has been challenging due to its predominantly rural landscape and infrastructural limitations.
“But, by bringing our ever-expanding API suite to a market leader such as MVola, we will be able to unlock new corridors for international payments to flow seamlessly between Malagasy mobile money accounts and the rest of the world.”
Madagascar currently has over 10 million mobile money accounts, significantly outnumbering traditional bank accounts. More than a third of the population uses mobile money for various transactions.
With many Malagasy working abroad and sending remittances home, Madagascar is a strong remittance-receiving market.
In 2022 alone, the country reported over $700 million in remittance inflows.
Sidali Stiti, Chief Commercial Officer at MVola, emphasized the importance of enabling Malagasy people to instantly receive remittances from abroad into their mobile money accounts.
The partnership with MFS Africa will help MVola deliver on its commitment to provide affordable and quality financial services to every Malagasy.
This integration will allow MFS Africa to connect the Malagasy diaspora with their families back home by processing a substantial number of remittances daily.
It will also enable MFS Africa to strengthen its current position in the country and potentially unlock a 100% mobile money market share.
MVola was launched in 2010 to promote financial inclusion in Madagascar by providing access to digital services such as bill and merchant payments.
In 2018, MVola became the first Electronic Money Institution in Madagascar and obtained a banking license in 2021, becoming the country’s first digital bank.