Safaricom’s M-Pesa has inked an international money transfer agreement with digital payments network Onafrique, aiming to streamline remittance flows to Ethiopia.
As per the agreement, Safaricom customers in Ethiopia can now receive remittances from various parts of the world through M-Pesa. This initiative stems from Safaricom’s authorization from the National Bank of Ethiopia in July 2023 to kickstart the remittance service.
The service complements Ethiopia’s efforts to generate foreign currency inflow through formal channels.
M-Pesa, renowned for facilitating transactions via mobile phones sans the necessity of a bank account, integrates international money transfer into its service, leveraging Onafriq’s extensive network.
Onafriq, operating in 40 African countries, stands as the continent’s largest digital payments network. Its broad reach facilitates domestic and cross-border disbursements and collections, card issuance and processing, agency banking, and treasury services. The company boasts connections to 500 million mobile money wallets and 200 million bank accounts.
Paul Kavavu, General Manager at Safaricom Ethiopia, remarked, “Our objective is to simplify payments, and the addition of international money transfer services to M-Pesa aligns perfectly with that goal. Ethiopia sees over five billion USD in remittances annually, and this partnership will offer the Ethiopian diaspora a convenient and swift formal channel to send money to their loved ones in Ethiopia.”
