“Ria Money Transfer, a global leader in the money transfer industry and subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), and global cross-border payment provider Thunes announced today a strategic partnership to enable customers across the globe to send funds directly to millions of mobile wallet users and bank account holders in key emerging markets.”

“Mr. Perlera and many other immigrants like him have managed to continue sending substantial amounts of money home, even after the coronavirus pushed their own jobs and earnings into free fall — belying early warnings of a dire global consequence from the pandemic. The World Bank had predicted in April that remittances transferred to Latin America and the Caribbean by immigrants would plunge by almost 20 percent this year, “ their sharpest decline in recent history ,” as workers were laid off or their hours slashed. But that forecast, as well as others from international financial analysts, is unlikely to materialize if current trends hold.”

“WorldRemit, a leading global digital payments company, has launched The WorldRemit Transfer Tracker mobile App for recipients of money transfers which allows them to track their remittances. The WorldRemit Transfer Tracker App is now available through the Google app store in Nigeria, India, Mexico and Colombia. It will also be free to download through the app store in 90 countries in iOS and Android later this month.”

Remitly, the largest independent provider of remittance and transformative financial service products for immigrants, today announced the expansion of its mobile wallet network, which now reaches more than 300 million mobile wallet holders across the world, more than doubling its reach from 160 million earlier this year. Since March, Remitly has added 11 new partners into its mobile wallet network. Now, Remitly customers can send money instantly through nearly 25 mobile wallet brands, including well-known and trusted players such as M-PESA, MTN Mobile Money, bKash, Gcash, Airtel Mobile Money, GoPay and Ovo, many of which are accessible through Remitly’s partnership with Thunes, a leading payments network for emerging markets.

“The business of global remittances, in which immigrants and expatriates send money to family and friends back home, has been slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. But at least two remittance providers — Remitly and TransferWise — say the disruption has brought new customers to their door.”

“Paysafe, a leading specialized payments platform, today announced the U.S. launch of its Skrill Money Transfer service. Existing and new Skrill customers in the United States can now use the solution to transfer money for free to friends and family in Mexico, India and 16 other Asian and European countries, with others available shortly. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigrants and expats across the continental U.S. will benefit from Skrill Money Transfer, which ensures as much financial support as possible reaches loved ones in Mexico and India, the top-two migrant countries to the U.S., as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Italy, the U.K., Spain, and France, among others. It is free to create a Skrill account and Money Transfer senders are charged neither fees nor any foreign exchange (FX) mark-up to send money from the U.S., the world’s largest market for sending overseas remittances.”

“Western Union Co. is seeking to acquire MoneyGram International Inc. in a transaction that would bring together two of the largest U.S. providers of money-transfer services, according to a person familiar with the matter. Western Union has made a takeover offer for MoneyGram, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. No decision has been made and Western Union could opt to proceed without a deal, the person said.”

“The coronavirus pandemic is leaving migrant workers unable to send money or goods home to families, cutting off a vital lifeline for communities already under siege from a barrage of external shocks. Remittance flows to low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are projected to fall by almost 20% in 2020, one of the sharpest declines in history, according to the World Bank.   The coronavirus pandemic has led to mass unemployment and hammered wages in the U.S. and Europe, key destinations for migrant workers, leaving many unable to send money home.”

“With Cross River as the settlement bank for push to card transactions, Remitly’s customers can receive disbursements in near real-time over the international debit card rails, through an efficient and secure platform. Remitly, a global remittance company that has served more than 2 million customers through its proprietary global money transfer network, is among the first partners using Cross River’s push to card capabilities for international disbursements.”

“Treviso, a financial institution in Brazil known as a foreign exchange broker, has selected nanopay Corporation as the technology provider to enable self-service international payments for their personal and business customers. In the first phase, nanopay will offer remittances to 10 countries, but looks to quickly expand this offering to their network of 150+ countries in subsequent phases.”

“Global remittance flows will tumble 20% this year as the coronavirus pandemic drags the economy through a recession, deepening hardship for families in poor and developing nations, according to the World Bank. Transfers to low- and middle-income countries from workers abroad probably will plunge by a fifth to $445 billion, the Washington-based development institution said in a report on Wednesday. This would mark the sharpest decline in records going back to 1980 and compares with a 5% drop during the 2009 financial crisis. Migrants face risks from loss of employment, wages and health insurance, and because they often congregate in cities, are vulnerable to infection, the World Bank said. The loss of their transfers could increase poverty in their home countries.”

“The MoneyGram partnership with CVS lets consumers send and receive money in-store from thousands of locations. The convenient, time-saving MoneyGram kiosks are a popular self-service option that customers have come to instantly recognize for their onsite presence at CVS as well as their ability to help simplify and streamline transactions.”

“Visa (NYSE: V) and the pan-African fintech leader MFS Africa today announced a partnership that will help bridge the gap between the rapidly growing mobile money ecosystem in Africa and the world of online digital payments, significantly expanding Visa’s reach and its ability to open up commerce to the region.”

“Xoom , PayPal’s international money transfer service, today rolled out the ability for customers to send money to recipients in the U.S. for the first time. Through strategic alliances with Walmart and Ria, Americans can now use Xoom to send money fast for cash pick-up typically in minutes at nearly 5,000 locations across the country.”

“GoCardless , the London fintech that makes it easy for businesses to offer recurring bank payments, has partnered with TransferWise for its currency exchange. The move sees GoCardless utilise the TransferWise API and the money transfer company’s “TransferWise for Business” product and in turn provide TransferWise’s FX rates to its own customers.”