MoneyGram has announced a strategic partnership with Suez Canal Bank, allowing customers from around the world to send money directly to account holders in Egypt. The leader in cross-border payments and money transfers says the agreement grants the company access to the bank’s wide network of correspondent banks throughout the world.
Suez Canal Bank will now be able to connect to the MoneyGram platform, allowing customers to leverage digital features.
Says Grant Lines, MoneyGram’s chief revenue officer,
“As we execute our digital transformation to lead the industry in the digital movement of money, a key strategic priority is expanding account deposit services in major international markets.”
Egypt received $29 billion in remittances in 2018, up 17% from 2017, with the remittance market accounting for 11.6% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the World Bank.
Ripple bought a $50-million stake in MoneyGram last year. The San Francisco-based fintech is a key part of MoneyGram’s digital transformation and is powering 10% of its daily transaction volume between the US and Mexico, after going live with Ripple in July of 2019.
MoneyGram CEO Alexander Holmes stated last year that he believes blockchain technology, XRP and Ripple are poised to transform the payments industry, calling the latter “a very interesting opportunity” for streamlining costs and generating savings that can be passed back to customers.
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