Whish Money has collaborated with Mastercard to enable inbound and outbound remittance flows for consumers in Lebanon. People in Lebanon can send money abroad to over 50 countries, while Lebanese living overseas can send money home. The new collaboration leverages Mastercard Move’s money movement solutions and its global network of operators to provide a service that will enable millions of Lebanese worldwide to send and receive faster, safer and near real-time money transfers through Whish Money.
With the collaboration, Whish Money users in Lebanon will be able to start sending money cost-effectively through the Whish Money mobile application to 50+ countries in near real-time. Depending on the receive market, senders can choose how beneficiaries receive the funds, whether into their bank accounts, mobile wallets or by cash. The Lebanese senders now also have the option of using their cards to fund their Whish Money wallet, in addition to using cash. This is Mastercard’s first collaboration with a mobile wallet in Lebanon to facilitate remittances.
“Many people in Lebanon rely on remittances from their family members abroad to meet their basic needs. In this challenging economic situation, international money transfer services provide a vital inflow of foreign currency into Lebanon. Thanks to Mastercard Move, we can now offer fast, efficient and secure remittances to Lebanese people” said Toufic Koussa, Co-founder and CEO, Whish Money.
“Our collaboration will give Whish Money the reach, transparency and speed needed to scale its cross-border business and address consumer demand for sending and receiving funds internationally. Meanwhile, it will enable us to expand our payment network and introduce market firsts for inbound and outbound money transfers in Lebanon. We look forward to working together to improve the lives of Lebanese people and address their everyday needs,” said Onur Kursun, Executive Vice President, Commercial and New Payment Flows, EEMEA, Mastercard.
According to estimates by the World Bank, Lebanon was the third country in the MENA region in terms of the absolute size of remittance inflows in 2022 with an estimate of US$6.4 billion, only trailing Egypt (US$28.3 billion) and Morocco (US$11.2 billion).
Mastercard Move, Mastercard’s portfolio of money movement solutions, enables people and organisations to move money quickly and safely, both domestically and internationally. The portfolio’s reach spans 200 markets and over 150 currencies, with access to more than 95% of the world’s banked population.
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