Partnerships trigger 300pc M-Pesa’s remittances rise
Dar es Salaam. Remittances to Tanzania through Vodacom’s M-Pesa have gone up by 300 per-cent this year, thanks to an increase in the number of partners.
On average, some Sh40 billion is remitted per month this year.Last year, the average monthly remission stood at Sh10 billion, according to the firm’s M-Commerce director, Mr Epimack Mbeteni.
He spoke to The Citizen on the sidelines of an event to mark the international day of family remittances in Dar es Salaam.
Previously, Vodacom partners were MoneyGram and Safaricom, but from November last year, the number of partners rose, including WorldRemit, Remitly and JubaEx-press.
The partners enable customers to receive money from over 200 countries across the world directly into their M-Pesa wallet.
Pan African partnerships include Safaricom, MTN, EcoCash and Mama Money, which enable customers to send or receive money from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi and South Africa. “With such a huge portfolio of international Money transfer partners, the world is a village with M-Pesa.
We remain committed to delivering on our vision to lead Tanzania into the digital age and change lives through technology,” asserted Mr Mbeteni.
Tanzania receives an average of Sh1 trillion in remittances from various countries per year. Head of Mpesa business development Tulisindo Rashid said with international remittances, people and small businesses remain connected irrespective of geographical locations.
He said the international remittances continued to transform the lives of thousands of Tanzanians through facilitating payments in education, health, and various business segments.
Speaking during a panel discussion on the same event, an assist-ant manager from the oversight and policy department directorate of national payment systems at the Bank of Tanzania, Mr Albert Cesari, said the Central Bank had increased limits on digital transactions to fuel the business.
“We have also reviewed balances of mobile wallets in a bid to pro-vide relief and ensure continuity of services as part of measures taken amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
