Fintech company Paysera has partnered with Ria Money Transfer , a Euronet Worldwide subsidiary, to enable payment collection in cash at Ria pickup locations in 152 countries. The collaboration with the cross-border money transfer solution provider gives clients the option of sending money to the nearest Ria cash pickup location instead of a bank account and helps unlock payment collection in cash at more than 522,000 locations worldwide.

Paysera, Ria Money Transfer partnership context and details As per press release information, transferring money to a bank account is not always an option as the recipient may not have a local bank account. Gintautas Mezetis, CEO of Paysera LT exemplifies the instance of Turkey, with 85 million people out of which 26% of the adult population is unbanked, amounting to a total of 17 million people. For these types of cases, they stated that it is uncommon for people to have an account in other parts of the world.

Furthermore, they added that even in the situations when the recipient does have an account, it may not be linked to a debit card, the card may have been lost, or there could also be no ATMs nearby for money withdrawal. Additionally, as international transfers from Europe to Asia, for example, could sometimes be increasingly costly when compared to alternative cash pickup transfers, company officials believe there are numerous instances where cash pickup transfers are both useful and necessary. Based on the information detailed in the announcement, Paysera anticipates the cash pickup transfer service to be of interest to migrants working across developed countries in Europe that send money home to their families.

Furthermore, the aim of the service is that of assisting Ukrainian citizens that are temporary EU country residents and are looking for methods to transfer money back to their home country. Alla Shelest, Regional Director of Business Development at Ria added that remittances sent from relatives working in the EU to their loved ones oftentimes account for a significant part of the family’s budget, supporting their basic needs, from health and food to education. As per their statement, the collaboration with Paysera is believed to help bring increased convenience to unbanked customers enabling them to receive financial support sent by relatives working abroad.

At the time of the announcement, the cash pickup transfers at Ria service points are available by leveraging Paysera’s electronic banking and they are set to be made accessible on the mobile app in H1 2023. The press release also details that the World Bank estimates transfers to low- and middle-income countries to have a 2% increase throughout 2023 and reach USD 639 billion (EUR 587 billion). As per the announcement, the World Bank found that 55% of adults in Albania, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, together with 45% in Armenia, 36% in Moldova, and 16% in Ukraine are unbanked.

With this knowledge as its basis, by providing cash pickup transfers, Paysera is looking to strengthen its position in the market for transfers to developing countries. .