Kenya’s largest mobile operator and Visa announced a partnership that will seek to eliminate barriers to global commerce by developing products to support digital payments for M-PESA customers.
The partnership will cover more than 24 million M-PESA customers, over 173,000 Lipa Na M-PESA merchants from Safaricom and 61 million merchant locations throughout Visa’s global network.
Peter Ndegwa, CEO, of Safaricom said, “We are delighted to partner with Visa in exploring products that will support both our customers and Lipa Na M-Pesa merchants. This partnership will play an important role in delivering even more value to our customers, linking them to even more opportunities especially in global e-commerce.”
Visa is committed to unlocking new opportunities for all as Andrew Torre, President of Visa Central Europe, Middle East and Africa explained, “Safaricom and M-PESA have already transformed millions of everyday lives throughout Africa and put Kenya on the map as a global leader in Mobile money. We are thrilled to work together on the next stage of their journey, bringing safe and convenient financial services to all.”
This partnership comes at the perfect time as governments and communities around the world focus on cashless and remote payments as bank notes become unfavourable due to the spread of the coronavirus. Corine Mbiaketcha, Vice President and GM for Visa in East Africa expressed his positivity, “We envision that our combined efforts in enabling seamless and interoperable financial services and products will eventually drive much desired financial inclusion in our communities.”
