Astra Tech’s botim and Jingle Pay team up to cut remittance costs for UAE workers sending money to Pakistan

New UAE remittance option aims straight at a familiar pain

Astra Tech’s messaging app botim and payments startup Jingle Pay announced a new remittance service in the UAE that promises lower-cost money transfers to Pakistan. The companies say the service will give senders in the UAE a simple way to send funds to 1.7 million Pakistani residents, with faster delivery and lower fees than typical options. The launch is aimed at the large Pakistani worker population in the Gulf, many of whom support families back home.

The move matters because remittances are a lifeline for many households in Pakistan. By packaging payments inside a widely used chat and calling app, Astra Tech and Jingle Pay hope to reach people who already use botim every day, while undercutting the cost and friction of banks, hawala operators and older money-transfer brands.

Why cheaper UAE→Pakistan remittances matter: who benefits and why costs are high

The UAE is one of the top sources of remittances to Pakistan, driven by expatriate workers in construction, retail, hospitality and other sectors. For many households in Pakistan, money sent from abroad pays for food, school fees and medicine. Even small savings on fees can add up for families that rely on monthly transfers.

Traditional remittance routes can be expensive and slow. Banks often charge fixed fees plus a margin on the exchange rate. Cash-based providers can be faster but carry higher out-of-pocket costs and sometimes opaque pricing. For senders, pain points include long queues, paperwork and unclear delivery times. For recipients, issues include delays, identity checks and limited payout options in rural areas.

Because many UAE workers use smartphones and messaging apps to stay in touch, a remittance product embedded in a familiar app can remove steps and reduce costs. That’s the bet behind the botim–Jingle Pay tie-up: convenience plus price pressure could win customers away from incumbents, especially among younger or tech-savvy senders.

How the new botim–Jingle Pay remittance service works and what users can expect

The service is built into botim’s app experience and runs on Jingle Pay’s payment rails. From the sender’s side, the flow is meant to be simple: pick a contact or enter a recipient in Pakistan, choose an amount, and pay inside the app using a linked bank card or wallet. Jingle Pay handles the transfer, currency conversion and local payout.

Both companies say the offering will come with lower fees and competitive exchange rates compared with many existing channels, and that money will reach recipients quickly. Delivery options will likely include bank deposits and cash pickup, depending on local partners in Pakistan. Astra Tech highlights botim’s AI-driven features for user experience and fraud detection, saying automated checks will speed approval and reduce scams, though specifics on those systems were not detailed.

For users, the selling points are ease and cost. For recipients, faster credit to local accounts or convenient pickup points will be a key measure of success. How smoothly the on-the-ground payout network in Pakistan is stitched together will determine whether the promise becomes reality.

What the partnership means for both companies and rival players

For Astra Tech, the deal extends botim from a messaging and calling app into financial services. That’s a common path for big chat platforms: add payments to lock in users and open new revenue streams. For Jingle Pay, the tie-up offers fast customer access to a concentrated expatriate base in the UAE, which can boost volumes quickly without building a brand from scratch.

Incumbent banks and remittance firms face a two-front threat: lower prices and better convenience. Banks may respond by trimming fees or improving app experiences; traditional remitters could emphasize cash networks and rural reach where digital apps still lag. Partnerships like this are also a cheap customer-acquisition channel for fintechs: integrating into a popular app sidesteps expensive marketing.

For the broader remittance market, more options tend to push fees down and force faster innovation. That’s good for households who depend on these flows, but it also means thinner margins for providers and fiercer competition on speed and reliability.

Risks, regulation and what to watch next

There are several obvious risks. Cross-border payments require tight anti-money laundering controls and local licences; any gap can slow rollout or invite regulatory scrutiny. Currency volatility and liquidity needs mean Jingle Pay must manage cash or credit lines to fund payouts, which becomes harder at scale. Adoption is not guaranteed: some workers still prefer cash or trusted local agents, especially in remote areas.

Watch for three signals in the coming months: announced pricing versus competitors, real-world delivery speed and the number of payout locations in Pakistan. If botim users adopt the service quickly and fees stay low, the partnership could take meaningful share from incumbents. If regulators tighten rules or payouts prove patchy, growth will be slower and reputational risk will rise.

Photo: Abbas Mohammed / Pexels

Sources

• prnewswire.com