Most people who buy goods and services from International merchants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google, Alibaba, and many others have wished at one point for these International corporations to include MPESA in their payment options. The cry by Kenyans for Facebook to include MPESA actually made Facebook to do so but with curveit, “M-Pesa… this manual payment method will only be available if the country of your ad account is set to Kenya and your currency is set to the Kenyan shilling (KES). Also, you’ll only be able to add a manual payment method if you choose one when you first set up your Facebook ad account. Learn more about manual payment“, explained Facebook on their payment options for Kenya. With the introduction of MPESA globalpay however, there is no need for Kenyans to ever worry again about International merchants not accepting MPESA as a payment option.
This is because Safaricom recently introduced the MPESA Globalpay, a VISA virtual card that is linked to your MPESA wallet. According to the frequently asked questions of MPESA globalpay service, “The M-PESA GlobalPay virtual card enables you to make payments to International online merchants for goods and services using your card details. The card includes a 16-digit card number, expiry date (mm/yy) of the card and the security code also referred to as CVV or card verification value”.
For one to register for the MPESA Globalpay Service, one is required to follow two simple steps:
Step 1: Opt In. To opt into the MPESA Globalpay Service, the only thing required is for the person to have an active MPESA wallet, then dial *334# on their mobile phone. You will then be required to select option 6 for Lipa Na Mpesa followed by option 5 for Globalpay, then select 1 to opt in. You will then receive a message confirming that you have successfully opted in.
Step 2: Activate. To activate the MPESA Globalpay Service, you will be required to repeat the process in Step 1 for opting in, but instead of opting in which you already did, you will now be required to activate the service. The activation process will require you to input your MPESA PIN, after which you will receive a text message reading, “GlobalPay Card successfully created. Card number: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx Expiry Date: MM/YYYY”.
Step 3: Transacting. To transact with your virtual VISA card (GlobalPay Card), you will need to input your GlobalPay number that you received from step 2 above to the payment portal of the merchant you want to buy from, but the merchant will also need you to input a secure CVV number. To get this number, you will again need to dial *334# on your phone, select Lipa Na Mpesa, select GlobalPay, then select Generate CVV. A CVV that’s valid for 30 minutes will be sent to your phone as a text message.
With the MPESA GlobalPay handy, now you do not need to worry about making payments to anyone online from your MPESA. Note that MPESA does not charge any transaction fees for using GlobalPay. However, when the payment is in a foreign currency, the service will charge a Forex Exchange markup of
3.5% on the prevailing forex rate to exchange from billing currency (Ksh) to the currency at the
time of purchase i.e. (USD, GBP etc.) Enjoy using MPESA GlobalPay.
