eZi Remit has partnered with Mastercard to enable cross-border remittances from South Africa to 25 countries.
The partnership is powered by Mastercard Move, Mastercard's portfolio of money movement capabilities, and is designed to let South African senders transfer funds to 25 countries, including Zimbabwe, India, Kenya, Ghana, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Depending on the receiving market, recipients will be able to collect funds through bank accounts, mobile wallets, or cash collection points.
Targeting high-cost remittance corridors
The collaboration responds to persistently high transaction costs in African remittance markets. According to World Bank data cited in the announcement, remittance fees in Sub-Saharan Africa average 8.37%, while traditional bank transfers in the region average 13.4%, figures the companies describe as the highest of any global region. At the same time, the partnership is positioned alongside broader efforts, including those led by the United Nations, to lower the cost of sending remittances and encourage greater use of formal financial channels rather than informal transfer networks.
eZi Remit and Mastercard frame the collaboration as addressing structural barriers to financial inclusion, particularly for underserved and underbanked communities and diaspora populations resident in South Africa. For many migrant and informal workers, remittance transactions are described as a common first point of contact with the formal financial system.
Bridging cash and digital channels
The solution is intended to connect cash-based and digital payment ecosystems through retail and agent networks, supporting near real-time processing in supported corridors. The companies say the arrangement is intended to improve transparency around pricing and transaction status while extending access to financial services beyond conventional banking infrastructure.
Mastercard Move underpins the collaboration, providing infrastructure that supports banks, corporates, non-bank financial institutions, digital players, and governments in sending and receiving funds across borders and payment types. Mastercard states that Move reaches more than 200 countries and territories and supports over 150 currencies, with connectivity to close to 17 billion endpoints and 95% of the world's banked population.
Gabriel Swanepoel, division president for Africa at Mastercard, said that the collaboration reflects the company's focus on supporting inclusive digital economies in Africa through faster and more accessible cross-border payment options. Furthermore, Shaheed Farred, General Manager for eZi Remit, said the partnership combines the company's presence within diaspora communities in South Africa with Mastercard's cross-border infrastructure, with the aim of improving cost and access conditions for remittance senders.
The collaboration adds to a series of partnerships between Mastercard Move and regional payment providers aimed at expanding formal remittance access across African markets, an area where cost and infrastructure gaps have continued to limit the shift away from informal transfer channels.
