Félix to Leverage Mastercard Move to Accelerate Cross-Border Remittances

Félix said will leverage Mastercard Move to make cross-border remittance flows between the United States and Latin America faster, more transparent and more secure.

The integration of Mastercard’s global payment infrastructure and Félix’s cross-border remittance platform will streamline the remittance process, the companies said in a Wednesday (Nov. 19) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

This combination will enable senders to message Félix’s artificial intelligence-powered chatbot on WhatsApp to initiate a transfer powered by Mastercard Move, according to the release.

“With the integration of Mastercard Move, users are able to fund a transfer with a debit card and know their family will receive the money quickly, often in minutes,” Claudia Garavini, vice president of strategy and business development at Félix, said in the release. “That reduces friction and builds trust at the moment that matters most.”

Stefany Bello, senior vice president, digital partnerships, FinTech and enablers, North America at Mastercard, said in the release that the collaboration with Félix will “bring a new level of simplicity and security to cross-border payments.”

“By combining the reach of the Félix platform on WhatsApp with the power of Mastercard Move, we’re making it easier for families to send money home quickly, safely and with full transparency,” Bello said.

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach said in October that Mastercard Move saw 35% transaction growth tied to disbursements of remittances.

Speaking during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Miebach said, “We have embedded stablecoins into Mastercard Move capabilities to support disbursements, remittances and B2B use cases. This spans prefunding with stablecoins to sending stablecoins across the globe, which can be received in any local fiat currency or supported stablecoin.”

Mastercard announced Nov. 13 that it launched a collaboration with money-movement firm Thunes that involves Mastercard Move facilitating near-real-time payouts to stablecoin wallets using Thunes’ Direct Global Network.

In August, digital banking solution provider Infosys Finacle said it integrated the Mastercard Move portfolio of money movement capabilities. The company said this collaboration will offer financial institutions streamlined onboarding and enhanced access to Mastercard Move and its cross-border payments capabilities.

Mastercard Move’s money transfer solutions reach more than 200 countries and 150 currencies, according to that announcement.