Visa has awarded Safaricom Plc., a payment facilitator certificate in a move expected to empower Safaricom’s merchant ecosystem by diversifying payment acceptance modes through the introduction of card payments that support all card networks via Visa’s CyberSource Payment Gateway.
This initiative is part of the continuing multi-year partnership, which began with the successful launch of the M-PESA GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card in June 2022. By leveraging Visa’s advanced payment technologies, Safaricom merchants will have access to and offer a broader range of payment options, enhancing their ability to serve customers efficiently and securely.
“We are thrilled to present the Payment Facilitator certificate to Safaricom and take our partnership to the next level,” said Chad Pollock, General Manager and Vice President, Visa East Africa. “This collaboration underscores our commitment to providing cutting-edge payment solutions that drive growth and efficiency for merchants. While in 2022 we opened the M-PESA consumers to the world with the GlobalPay Visa Virtual Card, we are now giving over 600,000 merchants access to the world of consumers”
The partnership will see Safaricom introduce card payments, providing merchants with greater flexibility and convenience, allow Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to accept card payments and utilization of Visa’s Cybersource gateway to ensure secure and reliable payment processing via it’s World-Class Decision Manager feature.
“Our partnership with Visa has been instrumental in enhancing our payment capabilities. The introduction of card payments through Visa’s Cybersource gateway is a testament to our shared vision of empowering merchants with diverse and secure payment options. At Safaricom, we continuously develop holistic solutions to our clients and this milestone will enhance our value proposition to merchants across online and face to face payments,” added Esther Waititu, Chief Financial Services Officer, Safaricom.
In 2020, Safaricom and Visa announced a partnership to enable the development of products that will support digital payments for M-PESA customers. The partnership was to cover over 24 million M-PESA customers, more than 173,000 Lipa Na M-PESA merchants from Safaricom and more than 61 million merchant locations throughout Visa’s global network, and over 3.4 billion Visa cards in more than 200 countries and territories , subject to regulatory approval.
According to the firm, the joint effort sought to eliminate barriers to global commerce and offer an expanded set of mobile e-commerce capabilities to merchants and consumers by enabling secure and convenient cashless payment solutions.
“We are delighted to partner with Visa in exploring products that will support both our customers and Lipa Na M-PESA merchants. This partnership will play an important role in delivering even more value to our customers, linking them to even more opportunities especially in global e-commerce,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.” Cashless payments continue to grow in popularity driven by increased globalization and digitization further creating demand for more innovative services.”
With the new certification, M-PESA users are expected to enjoy a range of benefits such as access to a vast network of acquirers and Visa Preferred Partners offering full stack acquiring capabilities and a variety of seller value-added services. Safaricom and M-PESA users will also have access to Visa’s resources, consultancy and events, insights and guidance on the latest trends and best practices in the industry. Merchants can also benefit from specialized training and access to development programs that can help them improve their skills and knowledge and stay ahead of the competition.