Chris Spillane
VODAFONE will work with MTN, Africa’s largest wireless operator, to ease mobile-banking services in parts of the continent’s sub-Saharan region.
The partnership would enable customers of Vodafone’s m-pesa and MTN’s mobile money divisions to make low-cost transfers to users of either service among seven African countries, the companies said in a joint statement yesterday.
“Together, we aim to build a scalable model that will accelerate remittance roll-out across the continent,” Serigne Dioum, MTN’s head of mobile financial services, said. Mobile-money transfers allow people to pay for services, such as satellite television and electricity, without cash as well as obtain loans and savings accounts in parts of the continent where banks are scarce.
Wireless operators are developing financial services to generate sales in Africa as revenue from voice calls declines.
Vodafone, based in England has 7.6 million m-pesa users in Africa through its Vodacom unit, and more than 20 million Kenyan subscribers through Safaricom, in which it has a 40 percent stake. MTN has more than 22 million mobile-money users.
Johannesburg-based Vodacom, which is 65 percent owned by Vodafone, was working with MTN and regulators on the development of mobile-money services in South Africa, spokesman Richard Boorman said.
“Discussions are being held among the key industry role players to enable this,” Boorman said.
“Our understanding is that the South African Reserve Bank is reviewing the regulations with a view to lowering the barriers to international transfers, which would in turn make the provision of this type of service more affordable.”
The countries where the interconnected m-pesa and MTN mobile money service will be available include Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia. – Bloomberg