M-Pesa, the mobile money platform used by more than 32.1 million Kenyans and over 60 million customers across eight African markets, is taking a new direction in the payments field.
In a partnership with payments giant Visa, M-Pesa plans to debut tap-to-pay capabilities. This follows owner Safaricom's partnership with Visa last year to introduce the M-Pesa GlobalPay Visa Virtual Card, which allows over 30 million M-Pesa customers to shop abroad while also paying securely. This new venture expands beyond the virtual GlobalPay offering and sets its sights on the cash-reliant retail sector.
It also follows M-Pesa’s receipt of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Certification, a worldwide data security standard for companies that accept card transactions.
The tap-to-go solution for customers will enable merchants to receive payments. Visitors with cards can pay through M-Pesa and also extend card solutions to other fintechs. It’s also good for Visa, which gains a powerful partner with a vast user base.
Customers can use the tap-to-pay product across the eight countries in which M-Pesa operates. M-Pesa says, in a statement on X: “Fintechs and financial institutions are equally set to leverage our card processing capabilities, empowering them to provide end-to-end mobile and card payment solutions.”
According to M-Pesa owner Safaricom, the PCI DSS clearance is a significant accomplishment for the company and corresponds with its ambition to transition from a telco to a tech company by 2025. It can now be a worldwide payment facilitator for partners such as Google, Uber, and Microsoft, among others.
Aside from tap-to-pay, the accreditation will allow M-Pesa retailers to accept card payments from Safaricom customers both online and in-person.
Local reports suggest that the company may now improve API functionality in order to increase the number of developers on the M-Pesa platform.
It’s yet another evolution in Africa of what was once a very simple system – but how fast is that system actually changing? See our recent feature on the future of mobile money for a closer look at this complex topic.
