Botim Partners with Mastercard to Simplify Global Money Transfers from UAE

Botim’s financial arm has teamed up with Mastercard in a move that could make life a lot easier for people sending money home from the UAE. The partnership brings Mastercard Move into the botim money app, opening the door for users to transfer funds to more than 150 countries. Whether the payout lands in a bank account, mobile wallet, or via cash pickup depends on the destination, but the whole idea is to keep the process quick and seamless.

I’ve met enough startup teams around the region to know that cross-border payments can be a bit of a faff, especially for workers who rely on regular remittances. So this kind of integration feels spot on for what many expats actually need. Botim money says the new setup will deliver near real-time transfers, tucked neatly into an app already used by millions for communication and financial services. It’s part of botim’s push to position itself as a fintech‑first, AI‑driven platform.

According to Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Astra Tech board member and CEO of botim, the collaboration supports the company’s mission to bring communication and finance under one ecosystem. He said the goal is to make money transfer “faster, safer, and more inclusive,” especially for people with limited access to traditional financial services. On the flip side, Mastercard’s Gina Petersen‑Skyrme highlighted how essential remittances are for expat communities and pointed to the need for options that are secure, affordable, and right at people’s fingertips.

The timing is interesting, considering the UAE’s fintech sector is expected to reach USD 6.43 billion by 2030. And believe it or not, this growth aligns neatly with the government’s broader ambition for a cashless, digitally inclusive economy. I reckon we’ll see even more players doubling down on instant payment rails as the Central Bank continues rolling out initiatives around interoperability.

What stands out here is how the collaboration blends Mastercard’s global reach — covering more than 200 countries and over 150 currencies — with botim’s growing ecosystem. Mastercard Move also supports a range of payout methods, which makes it easier to serve both banked and underbanked users. For many families relying on remittances, that flexibility is worth its weight in gold… you know?

Botim money itself holds licences from the Central Bank of the UAE as a Stored Value Facility and a Retail Payment Services provider. Beyond international transfers, it already offers prepaid cards, bill payments, lending tools, and salary disbursement features. The company, previously known as PayBy, now forms an important layer in Astra Tech’s wider ecosystem, which also includes botim connect and botim finance. These services together aim to reshape everyday digital finance for millions across the region — a mission Arageek readers will recognise, since it mirrors the kind of empowerment we’re always chatting about here.

Mastercard, for its part, positions this deal as part of a broader strategy to strengthen fintech ecosystems globally. Having covered enough of these partnerships, I’d say this one feels pretty natural, not forced. If anything, the only surprise is that it didn’t happen sooner. And just to keep things real, I’m not a fan of the slightly clunky way some super apps try to do everything at once, but botim seems to be threading that needle fairly well so far — definately better than a few others I could name.

All told, users now get a simpler, faster way to transfer money without hopping between multiple apps, which might be the biggest win of all.

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