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Euronet Worldwide Partners with AeTrade Group to Build Landmark Real-Time Cross-Border Payments Solution for the African Continent
Euronet-powered payments switch to be utilized by central banks, financial institutions, regional mobile wallets and SMEs of the African Continental Free
About this update from Euronet Worldwide, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Euronet-powered payments switch to be utilized by central banks, financial institutions, regional mobile wallets and SMEs of the African Continental Free Trade Area, serving more than a billion people in a multitrillion-dollar GDP market\nLEAWOOD, Kan., Nov. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), a leading global financial technology solutions and payments provider, announced today a partnership with the Africa Electronic Trade Group (AeTrade) to build a multi-channel, real-time cross-border payments gateway (or “switch”) for the African continent. The Euronet-powered payments switch will serve as the financial foundation for an initial 44 of the 54 possible countries in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that connects a population of about 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP of approximately US$3.4 trillion. Utilizing Euronet’s Ren payments technology, the switch will enable central banks, regional processors, financial institutions, regional mobile wallets (e.g., M-Pesa) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to easily make transactions with each other in real time and bring many new banking benefits and capabilities to African citizens. “For almost 30 years now, we have been diligent in bringing financial inclusion to people wherever they are through our core values of innovation and hard work,” said Michael J. Brown, President and CEO of Euronet. “This project, where our Ren payments technology will serve as the real-time payments switch across the African continent, provides one of the biggest milestones in this journey. Our past experience and successful track record in re-wiring the global financial infrastructure to better serve businesses and consumers ensures we have the expertise to deliver results for this crucial project and increase the financial participation of African citizens for generations to come.” First adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2018 to eliminate trade barriers and increase intra-Africa trade, the AfCFTA is the largest free trade area in the world based on the number of participating countries. In addition, the AfCFTA is expected to boost Africa's income by US$450 billion by 2035 while potentially lifting approximately 30 million people out of extreme poverty. Strengthening an existing partnership with the AU, AeTrade was selected to deliver financi...