African mobile money app, M-PESA , has signed a new strategic partnership with fintech giant Amazon , tackling global remittances market’s multi-trillion dollar surge. According to the UN, global remittances are set to reach over USD 4 trillion by 2030, and M-PESA is targeting a two-way flow with its recent partnership with Amazon, aiming to expand beyond the African continent.

Since its inception, the online money transfer platform has made financial services accessible to millions of people who were previously lacking passage to traditional banking services and has contributed to the transformation of the African money remittance market, helping people better handling and managing their money. However, the international competition is stiff, with big companies like Money Gram, Western Union, World Remit, and Remitly, as well as traditional banks fighting for a piece of this multi-trillion dollar business pie. A fresh start on its own The Africa-based M-PESA is planning to split from Safaricom, its telecommunications parent company and run as a standalone financial service company, tackling globally popular brands in the industry.

As the overall Safaricom share price negatively weighs on the M-PESA valuation, the split could generate value for shareholders, while also attracting a new class of international shareholders and ensure efficient capital allocation into the money remittance platform. At the same time, as a freestanding company, M-PESA could expand its service offering globally and maintain its position as an important player in the rapidly growing international money transfer market. The African fintech is also looking into signing more partnerships with local banks and mobile operators to boost its global presence, similar to its strategic agreement with Tanzania-based startup Nala, aimed to scale its International Money Transfer (IMT) services to the European Union.

With Africans living abroad sending over USD 54 billion at home in 2022, M-PESA is also looking into boosting its local success and become the platform of choice for the global African diaspora. Shooting for the stars (in the EU) By signing a new partnership with Amazon, the fintech is looking to expand its business across Europe and could benefit from backup from Vodafone and Vodacom, Safaricom’s global shareholders to penetrate the rather robust European markets and distinguish itself from traditional banks. Similarly, choosing to go public and being double-listed on international stock exchanges, M-PESA could raise capital and seek new business opportunities in Europe, while still focusing on building its brand.

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