Airtel Money and TerraPay enable cross-border payments in UAE

By Delisha Fernandes

TerraPay, a global payments infrastructure company, has partnered with Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL) to launch seamless cross-border merchant payments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This partnership will enable Airtel Money customers travelling from Uganda to the seven Emirates to go cashless quickly. It also provides instant cross-border merchant payments across 30,000+ merchants in the UAE!

Japhet Aritho, Managing Director of Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited, said, “Today we introduced seamless cross-border merchant payments within the United Arab Emirates, in partnership with Terrapay. With effect from July 21, 2023, anyone accessing any of the seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, will be able to pay for all their goods and services with Airtel Money across over 30,000 merchant locations. Airtel Money is the dedicated mobile money platform for Airtel Africa.”

Airtel Money offers mobile money services including payments, microloans, savings, and international money transfers.

Mobile money has witnessed staggering growth over the past few years. According to the latest GSMA ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money’, registered mobile money accounts grew by 13% year-on-year to reach 1.6 billion in 2022! ​With mobile money and digital payments growing, they are cementing themselves as mainstream financial services, further boosting financial inclusion.

TerraPay believes that cross-border payments should be safe and secure. The company has been building an expanding payments highway that helps businesses to create transparent customer experiences with an uninterrupted, fast, and real-time global passage for every payment, however small or large.