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.
Shopgate successfully acquires MagCorp, gaining access to Magento
Shopgate, a prominent mobile commerce platform, has announced the completion of its first acquisition. The company has successfully acquired MagCorp, developers of the open source e-commerce platform Magento. The platform has become quite popular among merchants looking to engage consumers more effectively. With its acquisition of MagCorp, Shopgate will gain access to the company’s talent and current line of products, including the Magento platform, which may help Shopgate expand its presence in the mobile commerce field.
Mobile shopping is becoming a priority for retailers
Mobile shopping is becoming quite popular throughout the world. Consumers are beginning to use their smartphones and tablets to purchase products online rather than shop from home on their computers. As consumers become more mobile, retailers must adapt or risk becoming irrelevant to a new generation of shoppers. As such, merchants have been turning to companies like Shopgate and MagCorp to find the tools they need to participate in mobile commerce more effectively, thereby increasing consumer engagement.
Shopgate continues to show promising progress in the mobile field as retailers look to engage a new generation of consumer
Shopgate allows merchants to build their own mobile store fronts. This is not a unique service, but Shopgate claims that it beats out the competition through its integration of popular web-based e-commerce platforms, like Magento. Using Shopgate, merchants can quickly establish a mobile presence that is ready to handle mobile shoppers. Using services such as Magento makes Shopgate’s appeal stronger as such service streamline the mobile commerce process for merchants.
Acquisition of MagCorp may help bost Shopgate’s presence in the competitive mobile commerce space
Shopgate has plans to expand the adoption of Magento. The company will promote the Magento platform among existing and potential clients in order to further its presence in the mobile commerce field. Shopgate currently represents more than 5,200 online shops and some 4,200 native shopping applications for iOS and Android platforms. As Magento becomes further integrated with Shopgate, the company expects that its mobile ventures will continue to attract strong attention from retailers looking to engage in mobile commerce more aggressively.
