Friday, 26 April 2024
Thunes joins forces with Singtel and UNCDF to accelerate financial inclusion in Myanmar
Thunes, a global Cross-Border Payments Network for emerging markets, has partnered with Singtel, Asia’s leading communications technology group, to enable Myanmar diaspora in Singapore to send money back to their beneficiaries through their mobile devices.
This key initiative is part of the United Nations Capital Development Fund's (UNCDF) Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformations (SHIFT) programme, supported by the Australian Government. Both Thunes and Singtel are among the selected winners under the SHIFT Challenge Fund Remittance Window.
The aim of the SHIFT Challenge Fund is to tackle the challenges and barriers faced by women in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV), and leverage on remittances as a channel to improve women’s economic empowerment. The goal is to deliver seamless money transfer solutions for individuals that don’t necessarily have access to the formal banking system.
Through this partnership, Thunes is connecting the Singtel Dash mobile wallet to various payout partners across Myanmar, and will be responsible for processing remittance transactions to Myanmar through Dash.
“Our goal as a business is to create an ecosystem that delivers better access to financial services, specifically focusing towards individuals who lack access to the traditional financial system,” said Thunes CEO, Steve Vickers.
“By working with key partners such as Singtel and UNCDF, we are now able to directly connect Myanmar diaspora with their families back home so they can send money across borders in a quick and safe manner. This is just the first step in our work with the UNCDF to help deliver better payment solutions across the region, and globally,” Mr Vickers said.
Mr. Rajeev Kumar Gupta, SHIFT ASEAN Programme Manager added: “We are thrilled to see the innovative business models of Thunes and Singtel, who were both awarded under the UNCDF SHIFT Challenge Fund, working together to meet the financial needs of last-mile clients in ASEAN. We will continue to work with and support both partners to further deliver on this great initiative and enable greater financial inclusion for the people of Myanmar and across the CLMV region.”
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
