Prepay Nation of Berwyn has partnered with Cellcom Liberia to help the hundreds of thousands of Liberian expatriates who support their loved ones back home provide the financial assistance of mobile airtime.

With more than 500,000 Liberian emigrants in the U.S.A., Germany, Italy, Holland and UK, the partnership is likely to be lucrative for both phone companies.

Prepay Nation provides cross-border micro-value and prepaid mobile airtime transfers, and Cellcom Liberia is one of the largest telecommunications providers in Liberia. The service will make instant  prepaid mobile airtime refills available at over 175,000 retail locations.

Most of the funds sent to Liberian family members go through traditional money transfer organizations, but the price of those channels is steep.  It costs as much as $15 in fees to send only $200 from the United States to Liberia.

“Mobile airtime is a different way to provide financial assistance to family back home,” said Hervé Perrin, vice president of business development at Prepay Nation.

“With this partnership, Liberian immigrants in the U.S.A., Canada, Europe and the Middle East can now purchase airtime refills for their loved ones’ phones. The full value of the purchase, with no fees subtracted, is received instantly on the subscriber’s mobile.”

According to the World Bank, 20 percent of Liberia’s gross domestic product comes from remittances as citizens send millions of dollars home every year to help loved ones with bills and expenses.

Pew Research estimates $342 million worth of remittance was received by Liberia in 2012 – $166 million from the U.S. As Cellcom in Guinea and Prepay Nation have had a successful high-volume partnership for the last 2 years, he collaboration inspired corporate confidence in the Cellcom Liberia initiative.
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