Vodafone has announced that it is bringing the mobile money service, M-PESA to South Africa, to be deployed by Vodacom and its South African banking partner. With approximately 26 million people in South Africa without official bank accounts, M-PESA will enable millions of mobile phone subscribers who have access to a mobile phone, but do not have or have only limited access to a bank account, to send and receive money via their mobile phones.
The M-PESA service was developed by Vodafone and has already been deployed by Safaricom in Kenya, Vodacom in Tanzania and Roshan in Afghanistan (branded M-Paisa). More than 11 million registered customers now rely on their mobile phones for money transfer, airtime top-up and bill payments.
"Mobile technology in Africa has already improved the lives of millions simply by allowing them to communicate far beyond their immediate surroundings," said Cenk Serdar, Director of Mobile Payments at Vodafone Group. "It is now set to transform the way we send and receive cash. The successful take-up of M-PESA in Kenya has clearly demonstrated the demand for easily accessible, secure payment services particularly in emerging markets.
"There are many benefits of using mobile phones for micro-transactions in a country like South Africa, where only 60% of people have a bank account in the formal sector, and yet the mobile penetration rate amongst the total adult population is more than 94%."
Research has shown that financial services are critical for economic development and inclusive financial services for the unbanked are essential for poverty reduction. Lack of access to banking services is forcing many to rely on a cash-based economy with little security.. Mobile technology can assist in enabling millions to take part and benefit from a more formal economy which will in turn drive economic development.
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