Safaricom and Vodacom Group‘s mobile money joint venture, M-Pesa Africa, has teamed up with international payment company Thunes to make payments easier for mobile money customers visiting China.
Through the M-Pesa Super App, the partnership will enable consumers in Kenya and Tanzania to pay Chinese retailers using their M-Pesa wallets.
Safaricom clients in Kenya and Vodacom customers in Tanzania will soon be able to scan to pay at Chinese businesses without having to convert money, according to a post on X from M-Pesa Africa on Friday.
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The post reads, “We are excited to announce that we are expanding our partnership with @ThunesPayments and in coming months, @SafaricomPLC customers in Kenya and @VodacomTanzania customers in Tanzania will be able to scan to pay at Chinese merchants from their M-PESA Super App.”
https://x.com/MPESAAfrica/status/1862510475554038029?t=wOCBs46SDh5XqCiJZMzwBw&s=19
Partnership with Alipay and WeChat to simplify payment services
Their M-Pesa accounts will be used to make the payments. According to the company, M-Pesa customers have previously faced difficulties making purchases in China because many retailers only accept local cashless payment systems like Alipay and WeChat Pay.
“For long, travellers to China have struggled to make payments as millions of businesses in the country only accept local cashless payments,” it added.
M-Pesa has already partnered with WeChat Pay and Alipay to make remittance payments to China easier.
It is anticipated that M-Pesa users travelling overseas will have a better payment experience, thanks to the extended partnership with Thunes.
“With this partnership, customers will not need to make Forex conversions as payments will be made directly from their M-PESA account, providing unparalleled convenience whenever they travel to China,” the company emphasised.
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Cross-border payment services between Kenya and Ethiopia
Customers can now transfer money between Kenya and Ethiopia using Safaricom’s M-Pesa Global service, which was expanded to Ethiopia in October 2024.
To make cross-border payments, customers in both nations will simply need an M-Pesa wallet.
Customers of M-Pesa can send and receive money to more than 190 countries in addition to Ethiopia.
To facilitate remittance flows in Ethiopia, Safaricom, the parent firm of M-Pesa, also inked an international money transfer deal with Onafriq in March 2024.