International money transfer service provider WorldRemit has linked up with Tigo Cash to launch remittance services in Rwanda.

"Tigo Cash in Rwanda offers innovative digital financial services to over 2.6 million people in Rwanda – the main services includes sending and receiving money, merchant payment, electricity bills and Pay TV, as well as airtime recharge," the company announced.

WorldRemit has also announced that it is looking to expand its service in the US market to provide greater access for African Diaspora to remit money back to the continent.

According to Tongai Maramba, Chief Executive Officer of Tigo Rwanda, the company's product would benefit greatly from online remittance that WorldRemit offers.

"Tigo Cash has already seen tremendous success and adoption within Rwanda. One third of our customer base actively users Tigo Cash at least once a month," he said.

Speaking to ITWeb Africa at AfricaCom, hosted recently in Cape Town, South Africa, Alix Murphy, Senior Mobile Money Analyst for WorldRemit said their service is now readily available in most US states.

"Now we have 48 out of the 52 states, which is really exciting. We are starting to see some great volumes coming out, especially to Africa," said Murphy.

This expansion will bring services to Africans living in the US to their families and their friends in Africa.

"We can say that 42% of all money transfers from the US to Africa went to Mobile Money wallets in October 2015," Murphy said. "The average value of a transfer to a Mobile Money account is much smaller (around $100), compared to the amount sent to cash pick-up (around $200)."

She added that people who send cash to Mobile Money accounts in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya do so on average three times per month, compared to 1.5 times per month utilising cash pick-up.

Murphy explained that setting up in every state is challenging for most remittance companies because of the need to comply with different legislation.

"It's more an issue of the length of time it takes (often a few months for each state) to become fully licensed throughout the entire country of the United States. It is also a very strict and robust process for each state, so not all companies have the strength of internal compliance procedures to meet the standards required," she said.

Murhpy added that the company is considering integrating their services through social media networks where users can easily send cash without leaving the various platforms.

Most mobile cash remittances are aided with engagement on messaging platforms such as Whatsapp and Viber, she said.