Safaricom, Visa Partner to Expand Access to Digital Payments

Safaricom Kenya’s largest mobile operator and Visa, the global leader in digital payments have announced a partnership that will enable the development of products that will support digital payments for M-PESA customers.

The partnership will 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.

With this joint effort, Visa and Safaricom will seek 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.”

“Visa is committed to creating new and improved payment experiences for consumers and businesses everywhere, helping drive progress and unlock incredible new opportunities for all,” said Andrew Torre, President of Visa Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA). “Safaricom and M-PESA have already transformed millions of everyday lives throughout Africa and put Kenya on the map as a global leader in mobile money. We are thrilled to work together on the next stage of their journey, bringing safe, and convenient financial services to all.

“We are very excited to work with Safaricom and leverage our combined assets to broaden our offering to a larger number of merchants and consumers especially as governments and communities are increasingly focused on cashless and remote payments. We envision that our combined efforts in enabling seamless and interoperable financial services and products will eventually drive much desired financial inclusion in our communities,” said Corine Mbiaketcha, Vice President and General Manager for Visa in East Africa.