Telecoms major Airtel Africa has entered a “strategic collaboration” with Standard Chartered Bank to provide customers with increased access to mobile financial services and new product offerings, with a view to deepening financial inclusion across its key markets in the continent.
Airtel’s mobile money customers will now be able to make real-time online deposits and withdrawals from StanChart bank accounts, receive international money transfers directly to their wallets, and access savings products, among other services.
Standard Chartered’s corporate clients meanwhile will be able to make rapid and secure bulk disbursements, such as payroll payments, directly into the Airtel Money customers wallet, who can then make withdrawals at physical locations, thereby reducing the risks with traveling long distances for cash payments.
Both companies will also work together to “co-create new, innovative products aimed at enhancing the accessibility of financial services and, ultimately, better serve people across Africa,” they said in a joint statement released Thursday.
The deal helps Standard Chartered accelerate its mobile and digital-led strategy. Over the past year, the London-headquartered banking group has launched digital banks across nine countries on the continent, offering customers “seamless services from the safety of their homes even during the peak of the pandemic,” Regional CEO for Africa and Middle East Sunil Kaushal said.
For Airtel, the partnership is the latest in a string of collaborations it has entered recently, supporting the company’s efforts to expand its mobile money offerings across a customer base of 19 million. Last year, it signed at least three partnerships with Ecobank, Mastercard, and Finablr, a payment and foreign exchange services firm.
The telecoms firm is looking to promote Airtel Money to its 100 million network users across 14 African countries – primarily in East, Central, and West Africa – through partnerships with both traditional and modern players in the financial services industry.
Over time, the network provider has added new products and services helping to promote the wider adoption of mobile money and increasing financial inclusion. “We continue to invest heavily in cashing in and cashing out locations for our customers and increase our distribution,” Airtel Africa chief executive Raghunath Mandava said.
Mobile banking transfers between Airtel Money and Standard Chartered Bank are now live in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Remaining products are expected to be rolled out later this year subject to regulatory approvals.
