This November Vodafone is linking up its M-Pesa to HomeSend ,a person to person global money transfer hub in a move that will see Tanzania M-Pesa users transact through an international network of over 21 international money transfer businesses in 35 countries.
The partnership will link Vodafone’s M-Pesa in Tanzania to HomeSend to enable users send and receive money internationally.
According to the Vodafone Director of Mobile Money Michael Joseph: “Mobile changes lives. It also transforms societies and economies: a 10% increase in mobile penetration in a country equates to a 1.2% increase in GDP growth.
Joseph, who was the head of Kenya’s mobile telecommunication firm Safaricom and in charge of the successful launch of M-Pesa in 2007 added that the service is now at the next stage of growth and will see national barriers broken down to make the service global and multi network.
The HomeSend will enable customers using Vodafone M-Pesa to receive money from a range of providers in other countries directly from their mobile phones. Homesend is run by BICS, a leading global provider of wholesale carrier services and a first mover in the mobile financial services.
HomeSend Hub serves both banks and mobile money transfers and acts as an open and neutral intermediary system between participants to allow the flow of electronic mobile money beyond national boundaries, irrespective of the mobile network provider.
Vodafone’s M-Pesa service , used by over 15 million in Kenya alone has given rise to nearly 140 similar mobile transfer systems today in 65 countries, the majority of which are in emerging markets across Africa, the Middle East and Asia Pacific and GSMA says ba further 104 mobile money services are being build..
