Vodacom M-Pesa has unveiled an expansion of its International Money Transfer (IMT) portfolio, where Tanzanians can now send and receive money to eight new countries from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
These countries include South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This announcement came at an event to launch a Vodacom M-Pesa campaign dubbed ‘Dunia Kijiji, Afrika ni M-Pesa’ which aims at promoting M-Pesa as the currency of transaction for Africa with all African countries able to send money to Vodacom M-Pesa.
“The entrant of mobile money in international remittance has not only improved ease of access but also reduced the cost of transfers, bringing us closer to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 10 thus we applaud this growth in this space and commend Vodacom M-Pesa for paving the way,” said Stargomena Tax, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.
The Minister applauded the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) as the regulator of mobile money for working with telecom operators to ensure that international payments and remittances are done safely and securely, which is consistent with both global and local standards.
The central bank issued the license to Vodacom under Section 16(3) of the Foreign Exchange regulation of 2022 that allows Tanzanians with M-Pesa to send money beyond East Africa to these eight new SADC countries.
Sending to SADC countries further testifies the enabling environment that the central bank is putting on top of enabling Tanzanians to receive remittances from across the world directly into their mobile wallets.
“This is financially connecting the diaspora to their families back home while international and inter-regional trade is made even easier with mobile money,” Ms Tax said.
Mobile money has grown from a niche product to become one of Africa’s leading digital payment platform connecting millions across the continent and facilitating international trade and remittances.
Similarly, Vodacom M-Pesa has been at the forefront in terms of facilitating international remittances through its IMT portfolio which connects over 200 countries worldwide allowing Tanzanians to transact across borders.
Speaking on Vodacom M-Pesa journey to IMT, M-Pesa Director Epimack Mbeteni said M-Pesa has leveraged on partnerships and innovation to grow its international money transfer portfolio.
Vodacom M-Pesa IMT journey started in 2014 by connecting with Kenya, in 2019, allowing M-Pesa customers to send money across East Africa and receive money from over 200 countries, thus making a significant contribution on incoming money into the ecosystem and growth of M-Pesa.
Last September, they added a new feature which enables Tanzanian customers to send remittances from M-Pesa to all bank accounts in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.
“We pride ourselves for being enablers in the payment system ecosystem by facilitating cross border trade within the region through efficient and seamless transfer of funds, from anywhere around the globe through M-Pesa IMT service,” Mr Mbeteni said.
