Ria Money Transfer, Swedish Telecom Rebtel Team on Cross-Border Payments

Ria Money Transfer, a cross-border money transfer firm, announced Thursday (May 12) that it is partnering with Rebtel, a calling service provider from Sweden.

This will put Ria’s international money transfer service, which is powered by Euronet’s Dandelion service, directly into the Rebtel digital platform and make it easier to send money across borders, the release noted. Ria’s services include payments to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash across 170 countries.

The release noted that there are over 280 million migrants globally, and most of them need ways to connect with family back home. The structural barriers present can leave migrants underbanked and underserved.

Rebtel’s services aim to utilize a calling network, letting users communicate with family in 51 countries. The Ria and Rebtel partnership will reportedly let customers make international calls with Rebtel and send the money through Ria, both from the same app.

In addition, the partnership shows a “significant growth opportunities” for telcos, with a projected 7.3% growth in remittances being predicted by the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development in 2021.

“At Rebtel, we believe in knocking down barriers that separate people,” Svante Pagels, CEO of Rebtel, said in the release. “It’s our mission to link all migrants with loved ones worldwide.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with Ria Money Transfer. In the next years, we will continue to introduce solutions that ease cross-border transactions while maintaining the same high level of service quality for international calls and financial services.”

In other news related to cross-border transfers, PYMNTS wrote that Western Union and PagaPhone have partnered with the intent of expanding cross-border transfers between the U.S. and Mexico.

Read more: Western Union Collabs With PagaPhone to Grow Cross-Border Money Transfers

Ulises Tellez, CEO and founder of PagaPhone SmartPay and Cloud Transfer Services, said the companies wanted to provide users with more ways to receive money from friends and family across the border.

U.S. customers sending money to Mexico can make use of any Western Union channel, including its website WU.com, its mobile app or any retail location. Recipients in Mexico can receive the funds over the phone with a PagaPhone SmartPay account.