TerraPay and Wave to Promote Cross-Border Remittances in West Africa

Money movement company TerraPay launched a partnership with Wave Mobile Money.

The collaboration is designed to enhance cross-border remittance services in West Africa by allowing Malians to receive money from family and friends abroad directly into their Wave mobile wallets, according to a Thursday (May 29) press release.

“Over 80% of Mali’s population uses mobile phones, with many using them for mobile money and digital wallets,” the release said. “In the region, digital wallets are an essential tool for financial inclusion, providing access to financial services for millions of people, especially those who are unbanked. With mobile money platforms leading the way, the landscape is evolving rapidly.”

TerraPay’s global payment network now facilitates remittance flows from multiple money transfer operators in the United States, Canada and Europe to Mali, all via a single streamlined integration. This allows all Wave users in Mali to instantly receive money, “further strengthen financial inclusion and offer a secure alternative to informal remittance channels,” the release said.

Global remittances are a constant fact of life, as workers around the globe transmit money back home to help loved ones pay for living expenses, healthcare needs or tuition. According to The World Bank, remittances to low- and middle-income countries like India, Mexico and the Philippines rose by 5.8% in 2024 to $685 billion.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Global Money Movement: How Digital Wallets Are Transforming Cross-Border Payments,” a collaboration with TerraPay, found that consumers favor digital wallets for cross-border payments. More than 4 in 10 consumers described them as their most preferred method for international money transfers, more than any other payment type. Among consumers in the U.S., this figure came to 44%.

The research also found that close to half of consumers who do not use digital wallets for cross-border payments said they are very or extremely likely to start using them to send money to family or friends in the next year. Among American consumers, 55% plan to employ digital wallets to send or receive cross-border payments.