Rwandans living in Europe have been provided with a new gateway to remit funds back home following a strategic partnership announced today between Belmoney, Europe’s first Remittance-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider, and RwandaCash.
The partnership transforms RwandaCash from a Belgian-licensed operator into a fully EU-enabled digital remittance platform.
It is now powered by Belmoney’s regulated infrastructure, the EU's Payment Services Directive (PSD2) licensing, and an API-first technology stack, according to the companies.
Remittances are far more than wire transfers; for Rwanda, they represent a significant source of external finance. In 2023, these flows reached a record $554 million, accounting for approximately 3.6% of GDP. These funds directly sustain households, finance education, and seed local enterprises across the country.
However, sending money to East Africa remains prohibitively costly. In Q1 2025, the average cost of sending $200 to the region stood at 9.9%—more than three times the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%.
For the estimated 50,000+ Rwandans residing across the EU, every percentage point lost to fees is money that never reaches families.
Through a single API integration, RwandaCash now gains access to Belmoney’s full European payment infrastructure, including PSD2-compliant collection across the Eurozone, automated Anti-Money Laundering/Know-Your-Client compliance, and real-time foreign exchange conversion, the statement noted.
The impact is transformational for RwandaCash. The company can now operate as a pan-European platform without the years-long regulatory burden of obtaining individual licences in each member state.
Backed by Belmoney’s RaaS model, RwandaCash is targeting transaction volumes exceeding €5 million within its first year of expanded EU operations.
“We built Belmoney so that companies like RwandaCash never have to choose between community expertise and European-grade compliance. This partnership proves the model: local trust, global infrastructure, zero competition with our clients. Together, we’re ensuring that more capital reaches the families who need it, not the intermediaries along the way,” said Bruno Pedras, founder and CEO, Belmoney
Over $96 billion in remittances flowed into Africa in 2024—roughly double the level of overseas development assistance. Yet, Africa remains the world’s most expensive region to send money to.
The Belmoney–RwandaCash model reflects that regulated, API-driven infrastructure can break this cycle by lowering costs and increasing transparency, the statement continued.
Ramadhani Nsengiyumva, CEO, RwandaCash, commented: “For fifteen years, we’ve earned the trust of our community one transfer at a time. Belmoney gives us the technology and regulatory backbone to honour that trust at a European scale.
"From Brussels to Berlin, from Paris to Lisbon, every Rwandan in the EU can now send money home through a platform that was made for them, by people who understand them. This is what ‘Made for Rwandans by Rwandans’ looks like in 2026.”
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