At the end of February 2022, WorldRemit users in Uganda were shocked to receive notifications informing them of the cessation of some transactions from the digital payments service that provides international money transfer and remittance services. The Bank of Uganda has come out to confirm to the public that WorldRemit Money Transfer (U) Limited voluntarily ceased to carry on the money remittance business.
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The Central bank has carried this out in pursuant to regulation 19(3) of the Foreign Exchange (Forex Bureaus and Money Remittance) Regulations, 2006. From 6th June 2022, WorldRemit was not accepting any new money transfers or airtime top-ups from Uganda. But with this new communication, the company has closed its local offices in Uganda. In a press release the Bank of Uganda said;
The public is notified that the closure of WorldRemit Money Transfer (U) Limited as a company will not affect WorldRemit money remittance product offered by several supervised financial institutions in Uganda.
Customers with outstanding claims for monies given to WorldRemit Money Transfer (U) Limited for remittance purposes should submit the claims, with evidence, to the office of the Director Non-Bank Financial Institutions Department at Bank of Uganda by July 18, 2022.
The Central bank has however assured the public that it will continue to safeguard the stability and integrity of the financial sector. Ugandan WorldRemit users will not be able to continue to access their past transactions and recipient details by logging into their accounts via the WorldRemit website. However, they will no longer be able to log into the WorldRemit app. The company maintains that the user’s data will continue to be, managed securely in accordance with its data privacy policy. Uganda joins Singapore and Russia among the countries where transactions have been blocked.
UPDATE: See tweet below
