Safaricom lets local and international developers in on the new M-PESA platform

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Safaricom (NSE: SCOM) has opened up its M-PESA platform to allow local and international developers to come up with next-generation applications that will work with the most preferred mobile money solution.

The telco is looking to integrate with other financial platform easily and at the same time offer more services to customers. Also according to the company, the platform will address one of the major shortcomings cited by local with the previous M-PESA platform, which was located in Germany. It was also a relatively slow and complicated process given the need for approvals here and from the team manning the servers.

The developers are expected to come up with innovative solutions for Business to Consumer, Consumer to Business, and Business to Business channels, that can run off the new M-PESA platform. The company has also prided itself with its multiple innovation platforms that have seen them engage young innovators in the country.

The opening up of M-PESA API’s complements other recent initiatives aimed at boosting M-PESA transactions and entrenching a Cash Lite economy through Lipa Na M-PESA which is an e-commerce platform. This move comes just after the company announced new fee charges for partner institutions effective December 2015. Where the statement said;

“In line with technological advancements, a number of Banks and Financial Institutions are now using the existing M-PESA infrastructure to extend the transfer of funds from customers’ bank accounts to third party M-PESA wallets (Bank-to-Many).This service, like any other service on our platform, will attract charges.  The charges that we will implement are similar to what applies for P2P M-PESA transactions (sending M-PESA from one customer to another).

We have already and received the requisite approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya. Subsequently, we have written to our partner Banks and Financial Institutions notifying these charges. This is a new service, and not a revision of any existing charges. However, these charges will now come into effect on 1st December 2015. This will allow Banks and Financial Institutions ample time to communicate to their customers about the servi

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