At the Mobile Money Summit, Africa’s mobile group, Zain, announced a partnership with Western Union. Under the terms of the agreement, Zain will link its Zap m-payment platform with Western Union’s global agent network, allowing Zap users to access WE’s 334,000 agent locations across 200 countries around the world. As a result, Zain hopes to attract immigrant workers in Western Europe, US, and Australia, who could utilize the service to send money to their friends and relatives in countries Zain serves.
Speaking of Zap, it’s Zain’s mobile payments platform which enables users to transfer money from one Zap account to the other, top-up airtime, and pay their bills. It works in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and the carrier plans to bring the service to other markets it serves, as soon as it gets necessary regulatory approvals.
Finally, Zain also noted that the deal formed part of its One Network initiative, which aims to create a “borderless” mobile network covering all of its markets…