- This is the first phase of Merchant Interoperability, allowing Kenyans to make mobile money payments to an M-PESA Buy Goods Till from any network;
- The second phase towards complete merchant interoperability will see Kenyans make mobile money payments from M-PESA to Till Numbers on other networks: Airtel Money and T-kash.
Nairobi, April 8, 2022: Kenya’s mobile network operators: Telkom, Safaricom, and Airtel have today announced the interoperability of their mobile money service platforms, allowing Kenyans to make mobile money payments to a Lipa Na M-PESA Buy Goods Till, from any of the three networks. The service will exclusively be applicable to Lipa Na M-PESA Buy Goods and excludes PayBills.
This is the first phase towards complete Merchant Interoperability, whose objective is to enable customers from the three mobile money service platforms: T-kash, M-PESA, and Airtel Money make direct mobile money payments to any merchant till number, across all networks, boosting the adoption and convenience of making cashless payments.
This proposition is also in line with the principles of the National Payments Strategy, 2022 – 2025, that was launched by the Central Bank of Kenya in February this year:
- Trust
- Security
- Usefulness
- Choice
- Innovation
Telkom Kenya’s CEO, Mugo KIBATI says:
“Kenya remains a global leader in the adoption of mobile money, with transactions in the billions of shillings reflecting the evolving customer demand for secure transactions. Our mobile money service, T-kash, is the culmination of extensive research on evolving customer demands, such as the need for security, simplicity, availability and a diversified service offering. In addition to enriching our financial service offering, the introduction of merchant interoperability brings us closer to realising a cashless economy, further enhancing a seamless digital transactions ecosystem that gives the consumer more choice.”
Safaricom’s CEO, Peter NDEGWA says:
“Safaricom is delighted to partner with other industry players on this exciting innovation to empower mobile money customers in the country to make payments through Lipa Na M-PESA. This partnership builds on the successful rollout of mobile money interoperability making it possible for customers to send and receive money from any network in the country.”
Airtel Kenya CEO, Prasanta Das SARMA says:
“I am delighted to see Kenya take this big step to enable customers make payments to mobile money merchants, irrespective of their mobile money provider. Our customers will also experience a dynamic, secure, convenient, and more affordable digital payment ecosystem for personal and business payments.”
Telkom, Safaricom, and Airtel are confident that this solution will offer a faster, more affordable, secure, and convenient alternative to cash payments and also eliminate the hassle of transferring money across networks, before making payments.
The customer journey is illustrated here:
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About Safaricom
Safaricom is the leading telecommunication company in East Africa. Our purpose is to transform lives by connecting people to people, people to opportunities and people to information. We keep over 41.9 million customers connected and play a critical role in the society, supporting over one million jobs both directly and indirectly while our total economic value was estimated at KES 358.6 Billion ($3.58 Billion) for the 12 months through March 2021.
Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and with annual revenues of over KES 250 Billion ($2.5 billion), Safaricom provides connectivity through wide range of technology, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G in aggregate covering over 99% of Kenya’s population.
We run the world’s largest mobile payment system and Africa’s largest Fintech – M-PESA, the world’s first mobile money transfer system. By empowering over 28 million customers to transact, save or borrow money through their mobile phone, M-PESA has driven financial inclusion in Kenya to more than 82% of the adult population from a low of 25% and generates over KES 82.65 Billion ($826 Million) in revenue per annum.
Safaricom is an equal opportunity employer, actively recruiting staff from different backgrounds reflecting the communities that we serve. We are committed to equal gender representation at all levels. Our target is to achieve 50:50 senior management gender parity by 2025.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we continue to work towards improving energy and resource efficiency in our network and facilities to reduce carbon emissions and our fuel consumption. We remain committed to becoming a Net Zero carbon-emitting company by 2050.
About Telkom
Telkom is a technology company that provides integrated solutions to individuals, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Government and large corporates in Kenya, drawing from a diverse solutions suite that includes voice, data/connectivity, digital financial services, as well as network services. Powered by its vast fibre optic infrastructure, it is also a major provider of wholesale carrier-to-carrier traffic, within the country and the region.
These services are primarily offered through our Service Delivery Units: Digital (that offers: Data Centre Services, Cloud, Managed Services, Connectivity, Broadband, Carrier-to-Carrier traffic, and Backbone Infrastructure); Consumer (that offers: Data, Voice, VAS, and Content) and Digital Financial Services (through our platform T-kash).
Telkom is also building on strong, consumer-centric ethos and is committed to providing innovative, accessible and refreshingly simple communications solutions that suit customers’ everyday communication needs.
Established as a telecommunications operator in April 1999, Telkom is 60 per cent owned by Helios Investment Partners, with the remaining stake held by Kenyans through the Government of Kenya.
Telkom has 4,152 km of its own terrestrial fibre cabling, serving as a key conduit for broadband connectivity, inland.
Telkom Kenya owns a 22.5% stake in The East African Marine System (TEAMS), a 5,000km undersea fibre optic cable through Fujairah, UAE. Telkom also hosts and operates this cable.
Telkom also owns a 10% stake in the Lower Indian Ocean Network II (LIONII), a 2,700km undersea fibre optic cable through Mauritius. It also owns a stake in the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) through shareholding in the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC). Eassy is a 10,000km cable from Mtunzini, South Africa to Djibouti. Telkom is also the landing partner for the LIONII, EASSy, the Djibouti Africa Regional Express 1 (DARE 1) a 4,854km cable from Djibouti to Mombasa, and lately, the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe Cable (The PEACE Cable) a 15,000km cable from Marseilles, France through to Singapore and South Africa.
Please visit www.telkom.co.ke to get to know more about Telkom.
About Airtel Africa
Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries in Africa, primarily in East Africa and Central and West Africa.
Airtel Africa offers an integrated suite of telecommunications solutions to its subscribers, including mobile voice and data services as well as mobile money services both nationally and internationally.
The Group aims to continue providing a simple and intuitive customer experience through streamlined customer journeys.
Please visit www.airtelkenya.com to get to know more about Airtel.