Mobile operator Tigo Rwanda has announced its parent company Millicom has acquired a controlling stake in Rwanda’s main provider of bank-to-bank payment switching services RSwitch.
The company made the purchase from Frankfurt-based African Development
Millicom provides over seven million customers in African with access to mobile financial services (MFS).
“This acquisition is a world first, where a telecommunication and media company comes together with a national payment switch,” Tigo said in a statement.
RSwitch holds one of two switching licences in the country, which has a fast growing market with increasing interoperability between mobile operators and traditional banking services.
“This acquisition will enable Tigo and Millicom to become an even more dynamic provider of financial services for the Rwandan market,” said Tigo general manager Tongai Maramba.
“As we move into an era where more and more money will be exchanged electronically and via mobile devices, we will be a catalyst for the coming innovation in the financial services sector.”
HumanIPO reported this month Tigo had signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the MasterCard Foundation in order to expand mobile money services in Ghana.
This announcement was followed by the company signing an additional agreement with Airtel and Zantel to provide interoperable mobile money services in Africa.
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