TerraPay has partnered with Kenya’s largest mobile network operator, Safaricom to enable M-PESA mobile wallet-holders in the country to send cross-border remittances across all wallets in Bangladesh & Pakistan.
The payments infrastructure company said the service will be rolled out through its subsidiary Mobex, a licensed money remittance provider, with plans to expand to India and Nepal in the coming months.
M-PESA, a mobile phone-based money transfer service, was launched in 2007 by Vodafone and Safaricom and has since expanded to several countries including Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, Egypt, Afghanistan, and South Africa.
It has had a notable impact on Kenya’s economy increasing the country’s financial inclusion from only 26 percent in 2006 to 84 percent in 2021, according to a recent report from McKinsey & Company. Today, M‑Pesa now processes over a billion transactions each month across its markets.
In the six months to March 2023, M-PESA Global transactions grew year-on-year in volume & value by 2.2% & 5.6%, respectively, reflecting a rise of cross-border deals, The adoption of mobile money payments in Kenya has been increasing following the Central Bank’s push for the service, in recent times. Through this partnership, both companies said they are aiming to work towards creating a financially inclusive payments ecosystem while fostering financial empowerment and independence.
Speaking on the deal, Ambar Sur, Founder & CEO, TerraPay said “We believe this breakthrough collaboration with Safaricom will usher a world of new possibilities for mobile financial service operators to directly scale globally and provide customers with the choice to send payments in a secure, transparent, and swift manner.”
Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom added: “We are thrilled to partner with TerraPay as it comes at a time where a growing number of customers are embracing digital payments to send money to their loved ones. TerraPay’s interoperable technology platform will enable our customers to execute secured & low-cost payments across key regions further encouraging the adoption of digital payments in the region. We look forward to a successful collaboration.”
