As of April 2024, people can make cross-border money mobile transfers between Cook Islands and Fiji. This milestone achievement not only enhances the competitive landscape for remittance services in the region but has also the potential to improve people’s lives.

The new service is possible thanks to the partnership between mHits, leading Australian FinTech mobile remittance pioneer, and Vodafone Fiji. Shailendra Prasad, Head of Fiji Vodafone eCommerce and Digital Financial Services, emphasises that Vodafone Cook Islands is the provider of the E-Moni platform in the country. Vodafone is therefore behind the collaboration between E-Moni Cook Islands and M-PAiSA Fiji, enabling them to offer the service to their customers.

The Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap reports that banking penetration is relatively low in the Pacific and that agent-led remittance business models that are cash-intensive incur high operational and compliance cost. Mobile money is becoming increasingly important for competitive costs and vast reach. While past innovative solutions have focused mainly on inward remittances, the service between Fiji and Cook Islands is a rare offering that enablers inter-island transfers instantaneously.

The accomplishment builds on Fiji Vodafone’s previous success in enabling cross-border remittance between Fiji and Vanuatu in 2023 through M-Vatu and MPAiSA. It underscores the commitment of Pacific nations to leveraging digital technologies to foster economic growth and financial inclusion. The introduction of the new mobile services aligns well with Measures 5.11 and 5.1.4 of the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap recommend the promotion of mobile money services to support financial inclusion and online purchases.

The project is an initiative of the Pacific Digital Economy Programme (PDEP) and is supported by the Government of Australia.

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For an overview of PDEP’s projects in the Pacific, click here

For more: mHits Media Release