M-PESA is a domestic mobile money transfer service in Kenya offered by Safaricom.
Western Union said by using any of its 80,000 agent locations across the globe, including the US, Canada, Italy and the UK, customers can send the money direct to the M-PESA ‘mobile wallet’ of their friends or family members.
Western Union executive vice president and president of business development and innovation David Yates said that Western Union look forward to adding additional functionality for M-PESA users in the near future.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, Kenyans living abroad sent $642m home in 2010.
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said that through this partnership, Safaricom’s customers and their friends and families will benefit from affordable, faster and more convenient international remittances, and the money is available to use straightaway for any M-PESA transaction, or can be withdrawn as cash at any of our 24,000 Safaricom agents.
