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Mahindra-owned mobile cash firm in Sh300m injection

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TerraPay targets East Africa. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Global mobile payments firm TerraPay is set to invest Sh300 million in its Kenyan and East African operations, partly with an eye on cross-border business.

TerraPay founder and chief executive Ambar Sur said the investment to be rolled out in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will be done in the next five years, enabling citizens transfer cash and settle cross-border payments for goods and services.

The firm is owned by Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group.

TerraPay, which operates as Mobex in Kenya, is also targeting a slice of diaspora remittances to East Africa totalling Sh400 billion, with Kenya having received Sh178 billion in 2016.

“We obtained the Kenyan licence in March 2017 while our latest licence from Bank of Uganda completes TerraPay’s vision to deliver cross-border payments to mobile wallets in East Africa,” said the CEO.

READ: Diaspora remittances rise to Sh44.7bn in Q1

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The firm said it was actively seeking partners to launch innovative products in Kenya. It is in talks with mobile money service providers and banks.

TerraPay was also looking into bankrolling intra-Africa business enabling citizens to transact on a single platform.

The regional scene is dominated by Safaricom’s #ticker:SCOM M-Pesa and Airtel Money as well as Western Union.