Financial news

Global payments infrastructure provider TerraPay has partnered with Morocco-based Attijariwafa Bank to enable real-time and seamless global money transfers directly to bank accounts in Morocco. 

In an aim to foster financial empowerment, financial independence and inclusivity across the world, TerraPay will enable Attijariwafa Bank to receive inbound cross-border payments from various send partners across 200 countries.

The collaboration will also see TerraPay leverage Attijariwafa Bank’s expertise in person-to-person payments and its strong presence in the region to further expand its own network in Morocco.

Currently, Morocco is the third largest receiver of remittances in Africa after Nigeria and Egypt. Money transfers from Moroccan diaspora members reached MAD 93.3billion ($9.95billion) at the end of December
2021 compared to MAD 68.18 billion ($7.27billion) in 2020 – an increase of 36.8 per cent or MAD 25.07billion ($2.67billion).

Bassem Awada, general manager for the Middle East and North Africa and vice president of global, key partnerships at TerraPay, discussed the move.

Awada said: “Morocco is a competitive market and has a large diaspora for remittances.

“We are delighted to welcome Attijariwafa Bank as our trusted partner for instant global payments in Morocco. This partnership is a first for TerraPay in Morocco allowing us to further deepen our network & expand TerraPay’s global footprint.”

‘Facilitating instant international money transfers’

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, TerraPay explained its belief that the smallest payments deserve a borderless journey as safe as the largest. The group has been building an ever-expanding payments highway that empowers businesses to create transparent customer experiences with an uninterrupted, secure, and real-time global passage for every payment, however small or large.

Twenty-seven global markets register and regulate TerraPay. With access to an extensive network of over 7.5 billion bank accounts, and over 2.1 billion mobile wallets across 110 receiving countries and 208 sending countries, TerraPay enables its partners to become beacons of the promise of global financial inclusion.

Adnane Driouech, head of corporate and international cash management at Attijariwafa Bank, also commented: “We are pleased to partner with TerraPay. Their extensive global payments network, partners, and infrastructure will play a critical role in facilitating instant international money transfers to our customers.

“Our integration with TerraPay has allowed our customers to receive cross-border payments directly from more than 200 countries in a transparent, secure, and instantaneous way.”

Alongside its banking operations, the Attijariwafa Bank Group is active in a wide range of financial services through its specialised subsidiaries including insurance, mortgage loans, consumer loans, asset management and consulting.

Headquartered in Morocco, the bank also operates in a total 26 countries across Africa and Europe.