M-Pesa signs deal for direct cash transfers to MasterCard holders

M-Pesa users are set to receive cash transfers from anywhere in the world on their MasterCards following a deal signed between UK telco Vodafone and the global financial services company.

Vodafone and MasterCard, through its affiliate company HomeSend, have signed an agreement that will allow M-Pesa users to receive remittances through their payment cards.

The agreement, announced in Barcelona at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2016, will be rolled out to different countries in phases.

It will benefit M-Pesa users in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique and Albania.  In addition to Kenya, HomeSend has already launched connections for inbound remittances with M-Pesa in both Tanzania and Romania.

“The enablement of MasterCard payment cards will allow someone to receive their remittance directly onto their MasterCard payment card,” said HomeSend in a statement.

Vodafone, which holds 40 per cent stake in Safaricom, has launched the M-Pesa service in 11 countries following exponential growth of the mobile money platform in Kenya.

“M-Pesa makes money mobile, now increasingly across borders too. We are delighted to offer our customers more choice to send and receive money from other countries and networks. HomeSend connects them to an extensive global network, offering an affordable, secure and convenient solution for inbound digital money transfers,” said Claire Alexandre, Head of M-Pesa Commercial and Strategy, Vodafone.

HomeSend, a joint venture between MasterCard, eServGlobal and BICS, announced the continued expansion of its network, including 20 new mobile money markets by the end of the year.

The network will provide customers with the ability to send and receive remittances globally via a mobile phone.

“HomeSend will provide a fast, safe and convenient way to receive remittances by enabling MasterCard payments cards to be used.  Several markets are expected to go live with this solution throughout 2016,” said the company in a Press release.

Any MasterCard payment card - whether linked to a mobile wallet or not - will ride on this feature, once enabled. This feature is associated with HomeSend’s business generally and not related to Vodafone.

Vodafone recently partnered with Singapore-based mobile remittance firm TransferTo to provide real-time international M-Pesa transfers.

TransferTo, whose partners include PayPal, WorldRemit, Sprint, and MoneyGram among others, will this month begin linking its platform with all Vodafone’s subsidiaries offering M-Pesa.

M-Pesa, which earned Safaricom Sh19.4 billion in the six months to September, currently has over 23 million customers across the world, 68 per cent of whom are in Kenya.