Mastrex Africa Ltd has commenced the administration of a tender process to permit banks to tender for licenses to trade on the Mastrex Trading System. The tendering process is being administered by Delloitte and Touche.

This means that the four banks which will win the tender will together have the opportunity to grow their foreign exchange business by at least $180 million. Following the events of 11 September 2001, companies involved in the transfer of remittances are under close scrutiny from regulatory bodies globally as they are seen as a prime source for laundered moneys.

Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) in remittance sending countries are looking to formalise their operations. In many cases, this has resulted in MTOs needing to establish new downstream distribution operations.

This is one of the driving forces behind Mastrex success with MTOs who have currently pledged to transfer $180 million through the Mastrex Trading Platform. Other advantages that Mastrex brings to MTOs include quick processing time, lower transaction and operational costs, safe channels for collection and a wider choice of distribution outlets.

Winners of this tender process are sure to undergo as steep growth curve in the earnings. On the Mastrex System, banks are linked directly to several agents upstream. There are no intermediaries, and no limits to the number of agents participating on the system.

This means that banks can receive funds from any agent who serves the countries for which they are licensed. Mastrex is not delivered by an MTO, therefore, MTOs have the autonomy over how they manage their businesses. They will continue to operate under their own brands, and set their own rates