TerraPay, a global digital payments infrastructure and solutions provider group, today announced the partnership with Sikhona Money Transfer, a trusted money transfer platform in South Africa, licensed by the South African Reserve Bank. Through this partnership, both the companies aim to simplify the complexities and costs associated with cross-border payments and strengthen the inflow of digital remittances into South Africa.

According to the World Bank Remittances Prices Worldwide, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region to send money to, where sending $200 costs an average of 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020. Within the region, which experiences high intra-regional migration, it is expensive to send money from South Africa to Botswana (19.6 percent), Zimbabwe (14 percent to), and Malawi (16 percent).

This strategic partnership will enable TerraPay and Sikhona Money Transfer to connect the regional and global financial ecosystems, thereby reducing the cost of inbound remittances for the South Africa corridor. TerraPay’s scalable interoperable payments highway will pave the way for swift, secure and affordable global payments from UK, USA, Europe and UAE into the region, by termination into bank accounts via RTC rails.

Talking about the newly formed partnership, Andronica Mphahlele- Regional Manager Southern Africa, TerraPay said “We are proud to partner with Sikhona Money Transfer to introduce fast, secure, and easy money transfers into South Africa. Our collaboration with Sikhona Money Transfer will help us in creating a secured and affordable payments gateway for their customers’ using digital channels. Our goal at TerraPay is to assist our partners in sending real-time and effortless money transfers. We are driven to offer universal, transparent, and secure digital cross-border payments through our global scalable networks,“ she added.

Elaborating on the announcement, Sean Maloney, CEO, Sikhona Money Transfer asserted, “We support TerraPay’s vision of building digital payment highways across the world, thereby fostering financial inclusivity and empowerment. Our platform has empowered customers in South Africa to have access to real-time money transfers 24*7. Customers can send up to $10 000 monthly to beneficiaries in South Africa. We offer competitive foreign exchange rates, which aid us in lowering transaction costs. Our partnership with TerraPay will help us lower the remittance cost of inbound transfers into South Africa thus increasing the remittance inflow in the region”

Present in more than 96 countries worldwide, TerraPay has established itself as a global partner to leading banks, money transfer operators, mobile wallet operators, and financial institutions, facilitating digital transactions without borders. As a B2B company, TerraPay partners with other businesses and helps them leverage its agile, secure, and scalable technology platform to enhance its customer proposition for remittances, payments, and cross-border spending.