Paga, Nigeria’s leading mobile payments company is partnering with biNu, a leading global mobile social platform dedicated to overcoming the digital divide, by providing fast and lowcost access to users of mobile internet services, such as Facebook, Twitter, and more than 100 other channels, to any mobile phone.

This is expected to further boost the cashless economy initiative being driven by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN)

Paga’s service is a complimentary fi t with biNu’s need to provide accessible payment options to its members.

A statement  from the companies said that by integrating with the Paga platform, biNu will now provide its more than 600,000 Nigerian based users access to Paga services, including alternative payment options straight from their mobile phones.

It stated that with the partnership, biNu’s customers can buy biNu credits right from their mobile phone via SMS, mobile web, or from their personal computer or any Paga agent nationwide.

Paga, founded in 2009, is a home-grown money transfer service whose initial set of products are delivered to meet critical needs of the Nigerian public: ability to transfer money fast and reliably, pay bills, top-up airtime or pay merchants safely.

Paga delivers these services via the mobile phone, Internet, and a growing network of over 1,600 agents nationwide.

Speaking on the parthernship, Tayo Oviosu, chief executive offi cer and Founder of Paga, stated, like Paga, biNu has identifi ed the importance of the mobile phone in providing access to services or products continually denied to the mass market in Nigeria.

“We are excited about this partnership because it brings Paga into the daily social interactions of biNu users. With biNu and Paga you do not need a fancy phone to interact with your friends or get access to content that interests you. Together our joint user base is over one million Nigerians – we are excited about the opportunities this presents us both to provide valuable services to the mass market,” he said.

Also commenting , Mark Shoebridge,  vice president, Marketing for biNu, added: “We see great value in this partnership with Paga for our members, for whom their mobile phone is both their means of communication, information and now payments. Adding credits to the biNu platform also drives its evolution into a commercial hub, creating opportunities for other content and service owners to transact via the biNu platform.”

“Both Paga and biNu are capable of working on even the most basic phones and on all mobile networks, so users have the freedom to access both Paga and biNu regardless of what handset or mobile network they use