M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing, and microfinancing service. It was launched in 2007 by Vodafone for Safaricom (Kenya) and Vodacom (Tanzania), the largest mobile network operators in their respective countries. As of today, M-Pesa has expanded to many countries including Afghanistan, South Africa, and India.
Services Offered
M-Pesa is operated by mobile network operators[1] (MNO) Safaricom and Vodacom. Unlike banks or credit unions, these operators are not classified as deposit-taking institutions. M-Pesa customers can deposit and withdraw money from a network of airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents[2]. M-Pesa enables its users to:
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Send money to any mobile number (only full KYC customers)/digital Wallet
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Send money to any bank account (only full KYC customers)
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Prepaid recharge
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Postpaid bill payments
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DTH recharge
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Utility payments
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Merchant payment
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Microfinancing
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Remittance
Partnerships with Kenyan banks offer expanded banking services like interest-bearing accounts, loans, and insurance. The user interface[3] technology of M-Pesa differs between Kenya’s Safaricom of and Tanzania’s Vodacom, although the underlying platform is the same.
Active User Base
The active user base of M-Pesa has grown from approximately 1 million active users in 2007 to 29.5 million active users in 2016. This amounts to 37% in compounded annual growth rate.
