Mobile money services in Africa are in for a boost, thanks to a new agreement between MTN’s Mobile Money offering and Vodafone’s M-Pesa service.
The pair have announced a new international interconnection deal that will allow M-Pesa customers from Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique to transfer funds across borders to MTN Mobile Money users in Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia.
This East African agreement doesn’t affect us here at home but it’s a step in the right direction. Interconnection of services will only serve to speed up adoption of mobile wallets as a thing and should also drive innovation as new tweaks on cross-network transfers are tried out.
MTN’s Group Head of Mobile Financial Services Serigne Dioum said in a statement, “After successful launches in Ivory Coast and Benin in West Africa, we are looking enthusiastically at the collaboration with Vodafone in East Africa. Together, we aim to build a scalable model that will accelerate remittance roll-out across the continent.”
Michael Joseph, Vodafone’s Director of Mobile Money, said, “Our agreement with MTN to connect our mobile money wallets in East Africa is a fantastic example of co-operation and interoperability between competing mobile operators. By working together, we will deliver cheaper, faster money transfers, improving the lives of many people living in the seven countries involved.”