Bidvest Bank & Mastercard to offer international remittance service for South Africans

By Delisha Fernandes

Mastercard has partnered with Bidvest Bank to launch Bidvest Bank BidSend, a solution enabling customers to send international remittances conveniently.

This real-time payment network, powered by Mastercard cross-border services, allows users to send money to 103 countries, and allows senders to select their beneficiary’s preferred choice of pay-outs as cash, onto a mobile wallet or as bank account payments.

“Providing innovative solutions that deliver the choice, security, and flexibility that South Africans need and expect is a factor win we take pride in. MasterCard is delighted to collaborate with Bidvest Bank to make this level of payment ingenuity a reality for Bidvest Bank -customers giving MasterCard an opportunity to bring millions of people from underserved communities into the financial and digital economy,” said Gabriel Swanepoel, Country Manager at Mastercard, Southern Africa.

This remittance platform puts payments at the user’s fingertips by providing them with familiar and easily accessible payments technology within the application. An additional feature is that users can also settle their payment transactions using either a debit or credit card at any time, offering a large network of pay-out options that make it easy for users to access, manage and control.

The fees associated with the new solution are lower than traditional international payments, making it more affordable and accessible for customers. It also offers more options when it comes to managing international payments and accounts and really aligns with how the payments landscape is evolving to meet customer demands.

“For Bidvest Bank and Mastercard to be enabled through WhatsApp as a transactional channel, is a first for Africa. It leverages the latest technology to create an affordable and accessible solution that is cost-effective and efficient. By digitising money remittance on the WhatsApp platform, we are changing the payments narrative in the country, and we are ensuring it is inclusive by allowing anyone to use the solution and not just Bidvest Bank account holders,” commented Tendani Sikhwivhilu, Chief Financial Officer at Bidvest Bank.