US payments service MoneyGram International has partnered with Astra Tech, a technology-focused investment company backed by Abu Dhabi’s G42, to offer money transfer services on popular Middle East internet calling platform Botim.
Through the partnership, Astra Tech will offer Botim’s 90-plus million users “seamless international transactions” that can take place in real time across 200 countries and territories worldwide, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.
The partnership will become available soon for consumers, they added.
Working with MoneyGram will make international money transfers “as easy as text messaging and remove the hassles of standing in long lines, tedious form-filling and unnecessarily carrying cash or paying additional fees”, Abdallah Abu Sheikh, Astra Tech’s founder and Botim’s chief executive, said.
“This represents our ability to connect people not only socially but also financially, while demonstrating our arrival as the first chat-based communication platform that enables people to send money home with a click of a button,” he said.
Dubai-based Astra Tech acquired Botim earlier this month as it prepares to launch an “ultra app” to serve a wide range of consumer needs, from instant messaging to digital payments. However, the company did not disclose the value of the transaction.
The deal came after Astra Tech started a $500 million funding round led by G42.
The acquisition will give Astra Tech access to Botim’s 90 million registered users — 25 million of them active — after a revamp of the VoIP service.
Botim was introduced in the UAE in 2017 as one of only two licensed VoIP apps, the other one being C'Me.
Currently, the UAE's two telecoms operators, e& by etisalat and du, have Botim, Voico and GoChat Messenger — the last exclusive to e& — listed as options for internet calling plans.
Aside from VoIP calls, Botim also offers phone recharge, bill payment and allows users to order food and groceries using the app.
Remittance flows to low and middle-income countries were set to increase 5 per cent on an annual basis to $626 billion in 2022, despite global macroeconomic headwinds, with India to receive a record $100 billion this year, the World Bank said in December.
People remitting money through Botim can send the funds to the beneficiary’s bank account, mobile wallets or have the cash picked up from any MoneyGram agent location, Mr Abu Sheikh said.
The remitter’s bank account or mobile wallet must also be linked to Botim, he added.
While Botim is free to use for consumers in the UAE, a remittance fee in the range of Dh6 to Dh10 ($1.6 to $2.7) will be charged for each transaction, depending on the corridor or country the money is being sent to, Mr Abu Sheikh said.
“This [partnership] will enable us to extend our reach to the millions of consumers who use MoneyGram, enabling seamless communication and money transfer for businesses, family and friends around the world,” said Alex Holmes, chairman and chief executive of the global money transfer service.
With nearly nine million foreigners living in the UAE, the partnership will help MoneyGram to accelerate its digital growth further and promote financial inclusion in the region, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Botim is positioned to reach up to 1.2 billion users in the Mena region in the next few years, given the region’s sizeable foreign population and strong demand for free VoIP services, it added.
Watch: Best apps for transferring money in the UAE
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
