Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile network operator, has announced a partnership with TerraPay, a global payments infrastructure company, to empower more than 32 million M-PESA customers to send and receive money to more than 200 million people across Bangladesh and Pakistan.
This partnership will enable M-PESA customers to access TerraPay’s extensive network of 4.5 billion bank accounts and 1.5 billion mobile wallets in over 100 countries, making cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more convenient.
M-PESA customers can use the M-PESA Global service under the M-PESA Super App or by dialling *334# and selecting M-PESA Global under the “Send Money” option to send and receive money to Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said: “Remittances have become an economic lifeline for thousands of households and businesses in the country, connecting them to opportunities and empowering our customers to transact conveniently and affordably around the world. We are therefore delighted to partner with TerraPay to enable anyone in the country to send and receive money to and from more than 200 million people across Bangladesh and Pakistan with M-PESA. This partnership opens up one of the world’s largest remittance markets making Kenyans more globally connected.”
TerraPay Founder & CEO Ambar Sur said: “We believe this breakthrough collaboration with Safaricom will spur the development of mobile financial service operators enabling them to directly scale globally and provide customers with the choice to send payments in a secure, transparent, and swift manner. Our partnership with Safaricom will further boost our capabilities in providing an inclusive global financial ecosystem with superlative technical solutions- cultivate an affinity by empowering Safaricom customers with fast & affordable borderless payment options and access to TerraPay’s widespread partner network of 4.5 billion bank accounts and 1.5 billion mobile wallets.”
The announcement comes after MPESA Foundation made an investment of up to Kshs 27 million towards a maternal and child health unit in Makueni County. The foundation invested the 27 million in the project while Makueni County government equipped the facility at a cost of KES 4.8 million. The health facility will be crucial in reducing referrals and bringing services closer to residents of Mbooni sub-County. It will also contribute to reducing maternal and child health mortality.
“In our efforts to curb maternal and infant mortality, the M-PESA Foundation has partnered with several counties to enhance service delivery. That is why we have intervened here in Makueni County to bring services closer to the people and transform as many lives as possible,” said Nicholas Nganga, Chairman, M-PESA Foundation.
The Foundation has ongoing maternal health projects at Ndhiwa sub-County Hospital in Homa Bay, Makwa Dispensary in Kiambu, Talek Community Hospital in Narok and Brase Clinic in Migori County.
Meanwhile, in Machakos County, M-PESA Foundation carried out a medical camp in collaboration with Zuri Health and Lion First Sight Eye Hospital, which saw over 2,000 people access health services. As part of the exercise, patients from the medical camp will access free follow-up consultations for up to six months via SMS and WhatsApp by sending the word “ZURI” to 40815. The service allows users to add three dependents who will also receive medical advice from doctors.
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