Airtel and Telkom users will now be able to use Lipa na M-Pesa till number to pay for goods and services.
On Friday, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) launched the interoperability which is the seamless money transfer through merchants attached to different operators.
Interoperability will achieve the regulator’s objective to enable customers from the mobile money services, T-Kash, Airtel Money and M-Pesa to make direct mobile payments to any business till number in a bid to boost the easy adoption and convenience of cashless payments.
“This is the first phase of this regulator-led initiative and it will allow Kenyans to make mobile money payments directly to an M-Pesa till number from any network. Interoperability will offer a faster, more affordable, secure, and convenient alternative to cash payments and also eliminate the hassle of transferring money across networks before making payments. a telecommunications official in an interview with a local newspaper.
However, the user’s access to Safaricom’s pay bill platform was delayed until next year.
The interoperability aims to achieve seamless money transfer to curb the dominance of Safaricom’s mobile money service and Lipa na M-Pesa, which handled payments worth kes 970.2 billion in the previous financial year.
Lipa na M-Pesa was launched in June 2013 and has aggressively recruited merchants across the country, including large and small businesses making it the dominant mode of mobile money transfer in the country.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndengwa affirmed the partnership is established on the successful rollout of mobile money interoperability.
