Vodacom Tanzania’s M-Pesa extends footprint to eight SADC countries

Vodacom M-Pesa has today announced an expansion of its International Money Transfer (IMT) portfolio to include 8 new countries from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) where its customers can send and receive money.

These countries include South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

The announcement was made during the launch a Vodacom M-Pesa campaign dubbed “Dunia Kijiji, Afrika ni M-Pesa” which aims at promoting M-Pesa as the currency of transactions for Africa with all African countries able to send money to Vodacom M-Pesa.

Mobile money has grown from a niche product to become Africa’s leading digital payment platform connecting millions across the continent and facilitating international trade and remittances. Similarly, Vodacom M-Pesa has been at the forefront in terms of facilitating international remittances through its IMT portfolio which connects over 200 countries worldwide allowing Tanzanians to transact across borders.  

“The entrant of mobile money in international remittance has not only improved ease of access but also reduced the cost of transfers bringing us closer to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 10 thus we applaud this growth in this space and commend Vodacom M-Pesa for paving the way” said Hon. Stargomena Tax, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.  

The Minister went on to applaud the BOT as the regulator for mobile money for working with telecom operators to ensure that international payments and remittances are done safely and securely which is consistent with both global and local standards.

“I congratulate the Bank of Tanzania for working closely mobile money operators to allow growth of international money transfers in Tanzania by ensuring that international payments and remittances are done safely and securely which is consistent with both global and local standards. Most specifically, I commend the BoT for issuing the License to Vodacom under Section 16(3) of the Foreign Exchange regulation of 2022 that allows Tanzanians with M-Pesa to send money beyond East Africa to these 8 new SADC countries. Sending to SADC countries further testifies the enabling environment that the

Central Bank is putting on top of enabling Tanzanians to receive remittances from across the World directly into their mobile wallets. This is financially connecting the diaspora to their families back home while international and inter-regional trade is made even easier with mobile money

Commenting on Vodacom M-Pesa journey to IMT, M-Pesa Director Epimack Mbeteni highlighted that M-Pesa has leveraged on partnerships and innovation to grow its International money transfer portfolio. Vodacom M-Pesa IMT journey started in 2014 by connecting with Kenya, in 2019, they had expanded allowing M-Pesa customers to send money across East Africa and receive money from over 200 countries thus making a significant contribution on incoming money into the ecosystem and growth of M-Pesa.

In 2021, they added a new feature which enables Tanzanian customers to send remittances from M-Pesa to ALL Bank accounts in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.  

“We pride ourselves for being enablers in the payment system ecosystem by facilitating cross border trade within the region through efficient and seamless transfer of funds,  from anywhere around the globe through M-Pesa International Money Transfer Service. Today we are pleased to announce the expansion of our IMT offering to more PAN African countries allowing Tanzanians to send & receive money from Eight SADCcountries namely South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and Democratic Republic of Congo” he said.

He added, “International remittances make it possible for people and small businesses to stay connected irrespective of geography,”

He further pointed out that international remittances continue to transform the lives of thousands of Tanzanians through facilitating payments in education, health, and various business segments which is why Vodacom M-Pesa has aimed to continue providing a platform for the Tanzanian diaspora to  effectively participate in socio-economic activities which will contribute to the overall development of the country.