On Thursday, the Burj Khalifa was lit up by the UAE app Botim as fintech company Astra Tech formally launched its money transfer service.
Botim, a joint venture between Astra Tech and MoneyGram, reportedly has 100 million users and enables real-time money transfers to more than 150 countries while users are conversing on the app.
Since its debut earlier this year, the feature has attracted thousands of users.
To commemorate the beginning of the money transfer campaign, the “ultra-app” took to the side of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Users of the new service can send money instantaneously to their bank accounts, mobile wallets, and more than 400,000 cash pick-up sites worldwide, including those in India, Pakistan, Morocco, Uganda, South Africa, and the United States.
Payby Technology Projects, a licenced company monitored and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE, provides the fintech services for the app. Botim was purchased early this year by Astra Tech, a technology development and investment firm based in the United Arab Emirates.
Botim’s rapidly expanding app is uniquely positioned to reach up to 1.2 billion users throughout MENA in the next few years, given the region’s sizable expat population and strong demand for free VoIP services. With nearly nine million expatriates living in the UAE, this partnership positions MoneyGram to accelerate its digital growth further and promote financial inclusion in a region dominated by outbound international payment transfers.
