This new partnership has just been signed between the two companies to allow for broad scale M-Pesa signups.
Vodafone has now entered into a deal with Moneygram, a specialist in currency transfers, which will make it possible for users to exchange mobile payments from among 200 different countries to other users who are signed up for the M-Pesa service.
The rollout is now being scheduled to occur in phases, starting in the spring of 2014.
Once active, it will allow consumers to use mobile payments to add money directly into accounts with M-Pesa or to send money directly through transfers from one account to the other. This will be possible through the mobile apps or through the official Moneygram website. This will help to provide a service that the companies feel is greatly needed at the moment.
There is a demand that is currently unfilled for sending mobile payments to family and friends worldwide.
According to the director of M-Pesa at Vodafone, Michael Joseph, “There is huge demand for sending funds back to family and friends in your home market and an estimated $90bn2 per year is transferred to M-Pesa markets from around the globe.” He went on to say that this newly formed partnership that his company has established with Moneygram will now allow them to offer the broadest network, worldwide, as well as the most access points for consumers who are hoping to be able to send money to users of the M-Pesa service.
M-Pesa is already available in a number of countries, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. These nations include India, Egypt, Tanzania, Kenya, Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, and Fiji.
The purpose of this mobile payments service is to make it possible for “unbanked” individuals, that is, people who don’t have access to the traditional type of bank account, to be able to send money to one another through the use of their cell phones. This has made it especially popular throughout those regions of the globe and it is continuing to experience considerable use as well as growth, there.
Weve teams with MasterCard to accelerate adoption among businesses
Weve, an upcoming mobile commerce platform in the United Kingdom, has announced that it has partnered with MasterCard. This partnership is meant to make the launch of Weve throughout the UK smooth as well as accelerate the rate at which merchants adopt the platform. The United Kingdom is quickly becoming one of the most attractive mobile payments market in the world. More consumers are using their mobile devices to shop online, claiming that shopping from a mobile device is more convenient.
Weve aims to provide organizations with platform that can effectively engage consumers
Weve was introduced last year after it had won the approval of the European Union. The platform represents a joint venture from Vodafone, EE, and O2, three of the largest telecommunications organizations in the United Kingdom. Weve is meant to serve as an all-encompassing platform that banks, retailers, and advertisers can use to engage mobile consumers. Such platforms are becoming more important as consumers begin to rely more heavily on their smartphones and tablets in daily life.
Partnership with MasterCard may attract more attention to mobile commerce platform
In partnering with MasterCard, Weve may be able attract the attention of banks and other organizations more quickly. Banks and retailers typically invest in third parties to develop mobile commerce platforms for them, but these platforms are often quickly developed and offer limited features to consumers. Through Weve, businesses will have a well-developed platform they can use to engage consumers more effectively and provide these consumers with a favorable experience.
Weve may not win favor with iOS consumers without NFC devices
Weve anticipates that it will see widespread rollout in the United Kingdom beginning in 2015. The platform is expected to be used as part of more than 300,000 point of sale systems in the country. The problem, however, is that the platform is based on NFC technology, meaning that those without NFC-enabled mobile devices, such as those with iOS devices, will not be able to make use of Weve. This could limit the potential acceptance than Weve receives in the United Kingdom.
