Vodacom takes M-Pesa brand global with over 200 destinations

VODACOM’s mobile money platform, M-Pesa now enables customers to receive money from over 200 countries across the world directly into their M-Pesa wallet.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam during an international day of family remittances at which stakeholders met to deliberate on the future of international remittance post COVID-19, Vodacom’s M-Commerce Director, Epimack Mbeteni said that international remittances make people and small businesses stay connected irrespective of geography.

Mbeteni further pointed out that international remittances continue to transform lives of thousands of Tanzanians through facilitating payments for education, health and various business segments which is why M-Pesa maintains to expand to allow the Diaspora effectively participate in socio-economic activities of the country.

“We pride ourselves for  being enablers in the payment system by facilitating cross border trade within the region for the efficient and  seamless sending and receiving of funds,  from anywhere around the globe through M-Pesa international money transfer service,” he said.

In its efforts to broaden its portfolio through partnerships, Vodacom has over the past few months established global contacts with MoneyGram, WorldRemit, Remitly and JubaExpress, all of whom enable customers to receive money from over 200 countries across the world directly into their M-Pesa wallet.

The telco’s Pan African partners include Safaricom, MTN, EcoCash and Mama Money which enable customers to send or receive money from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi and South Africa.

“With such a huge portfolio of international money transfer partners, the world is a village with M-Pesa. We thank our customers for their patronage and we remain committed to deliver on our vision to lead Tanzania into the digital age and change lives through technology,” Mbeteni noted.

Peter De Caluwe, CEO- Thunes praised the move saying such partnerships and innovations support the true African spirit because countries have always been connected through daily movement of people, goods and services.

“International money transfer services are critical to African economies as they facilitate inflow of foreign currency into these countries and have a direct bearing on the social and economic welfare of the people,” De Caluwe said while noting that mobile money payments also facilitate financial inclusion in developing markets.