Vodafone Fiji, in partnership with mHITs Limited and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), launched a new revolutionary feature for its mobile money platforms that enables cross-border transfer of funds from Fiji to Vanuatu.

In a first for the Pacific region, the new feature will connect Vodafone’s popular M-PAiSA platform with its sister service, M-Vatu, allowing people to send money in real-time from Fiji and receive funds instantly in Vanuatu.

A Winning Solution 

The initiative was a winning solution at the Pacific Islands Fintech Innovation Challenge hosted by UNCDF in Singapore last year, and will reduce the reliance on brick-and-mortar services in the Pacific’s vital remittances sector.

“Vodafone Fiji is pleased to add the international money transfer out of Fiji to the growing suite of  services available under its M-PAiSA digital wallet”, said Shailendra Prasad, head of Vodafone Fiji eCommerce digital financial services.

M-PAiSA brings in around $35m in personal remittances every month from abroad..

M-PAiSA users in Fiji until now were not able to send money outside Fiji.

A First 

The Fiji to Vanuatu money sending service via M-PAiSA is the first of many Pacific Islands countries Vodafone would like to connect for cross border remittances.

This will make sending money between Pacific islands more convenient and less costly.

The service would benefit many Vanuatu nationals who are either studying or working in regional organisations in Fiji.

They have requested cross-border money transfer service via M-PAiSA.

Vodafone Fiji and mHits are the first amongst the Fintech Challenge winners to take the proposed solution to the market for the benefit of its customers.

Vanuatu, Samoa, Cooks 

Vodafone Fiji operates its award-winning M-PAiSA platform as M-Vatu in Vanuatu, M-Tala in Samoa, e-Moni in Cook Islands and M-PAiSA in Kiribati.

It hopes to interconnect all these markets for inwards and outward money transfer service.

Award-winning mHits 

mHITs, a multi-award winning Australian fintech, won a US$50,000 (FJ$110K) grant at the challenge to develop the region’s first cross-border payments solution with Vodafone.

The company will manage the foreign currency conversion of the money transfer process, while Vodafone operate the software at the sender and receiver’s end.

M-Vatu users will be able to send money to Fiji in the next three to four weeks.

Source: United Nations Capital Development Fund

Feedback: frederica.elbourne@fijisun.com.fj