Vodacom Tanzania has significantly expanded the reach of its mobile money service with the launch of M-Pesa Global Payment, a comprehensive suite of international payment features. This initiative allows the platform’s over 22 million users to execute payments to merchants globally, including those in China, Dubai, Uganda, and any location that accepts Visa payments, directly from their M-Pesa accounts. The rollout is supported by strategic partnerships with major global players, including Visa, Chinese digital payment giant Alipay, Middle Eastern payments networks Network International and Magnati, and East African mobile money operator MTN Uganda.
New Features and Cross-Border Corridors
The M-Pesa Global Payment initiative is focused on solving the historical issues of slow, expensive, and fragmented cross-border trade for East African SMEs.
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M-Pesa Tap & Pay: This pioneering feature in Africa, powered by Visa’s tokenisation technology, allows customers to generate a secure virtual Visa card within the M-Pesa app. Users can then make contactless payments globally by tapping their phones at any Visa-enabled Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal, mirroring the functionality of physical card tap-and-pay.
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China Trade Corridor: Users can now make direct payments to Chinese merchants through Alipay, significantly simplifying the transaction process for Tanzanian importers who source large volumes of goods from China.
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East Africa Integration: A partnership with MTN Uganda allows M-Pesa users to pay merchants directly into their MTN MoMo wallets, streamlining settlement for traders operating between the two countries.
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Global Merchant Access: Through a collaboration with TerraPay and the Visa network, customers can transact with millions of selected merchants in Dubai and anywhere else Visa is accepted worldwide.
According to Epimack Mbeteni, M-Pesa Director at Vodacom Tanzania, these partnerships demonstrate a commitment to building a “strong and interconnected digital payments ecosystem,” offering a secure, instant, and regulated solution that replaces reliance on cash workarounds and high-fee intermediaries. The initiative aims to reduce the cost of doing business and enhance the participation of Tanzanian consumers and businesses in the global digital economy.
