Nedbank and Vodacom have introduced money transfer service M-PESA in South Africa.
The M-PESA service enables Vodacom customers to transfer money from person to another. The money can be loaded onto a Vodacom cellphone at any M-PESA outlets including retail stores and all Nedbank branches.
The registered customers of the service can deposit money into their M-PESA account, or withdraw it as cash, or they can send money to any other cellphone in South Africa.
The receiver can then redeem the cash at an M-PESA outlet or a Nedbank ATM or they can can also choose to buy airtime or transfer the money to another person.
The M-PESA service is available for only Vodacom customers, however, anyone with a cellphone can receive it, according to Vodacom.
Initially, M-PESA is offering basic money transfers but Nedbank and Vodacom are in the process of implementing additional services such as paying bills and buying goods.
Vodacom Group CEO Pieter Uys said that anyone can receive M-PESA without having to be an M-PESA customer or even a Vodacom subscriber, it has the power to reach all cellphone users.
“M-PESA caters for all South Africans and is specifically designed to include those who do not have access to bank accounts,” Uys said.
“M-PESA is set to revolutionise how money is transferred in South Africa.”
Vodafone Group Mobile Payments director Cenk Serdar said that the successful roll-out of M-PESA in countries such as Kenya and Tanzania has shown that our technology can meet the demand for easily accessible secure payment services, particularly for those who were previously excluded from the existing systems.