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Business Reporter

Tanzania’s leading mobile money provider, Vodacom M-Pesa, has today announced an expansion of its International Money Transfer (IMT) portfolio to include 8 new countries from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) where its customers can send and receive money. 

The countries include South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The announcement was made at an event in Tanzania to launch a Vodacom M-Pesa campaign dubbed “Dunia Kijiji, Afrika ni M-Pesa”, which aims to promote M-Pesa as an international money remittance platform across Africa.

Mobile money has grown from a niche product to become Africa’s leading digital payment platform connecting millions across the continent and facilitating international trade and remittances. 

Vodacom M-Pesa has been at the forefront in terms of facilitating international remittances through its IMT portfolio which connects over 200 countries worldwide allowing Tanzanians to transact across borders.

“The entrant of mobile money in international remittance has not only improved ease of access but also reduced the cost of transfers bringing us closer to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number 10 thus we applaud this growth in this space and

commend Vodacom M-Pesa for paving the way,” said Stargomena Tax, Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation 

She went on to applaud the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the regulator for mobile money, for working with telecom operators to ensure that international payments and remittances are done safely and securely, which is consistent with both global and local standards.

 “I congratulate the Bank of Tanzania for working closely with mobile money operators to allow the growth of international money transfers in Tanzania by ensuring that international payments and remittances are done safely and securely which is consistent with both global and local standards.

“Most specifically, I commend the BoT for issuing the License to Vodacom under Section 16(3) of the Foreign Exchange regulation of 2022, which allows Tanzanians with M-Pesa to send money beyond East Africa to these 8 new SADC countries.

“Sending to SADC countries further testifies to the enabling environment that the central bank is putting on top of enabling Tanzanians to receive remittances from across the World directly into their mobile wallets. This is financially connecting the diaspora to their families back home while international and inter-regional trade is made even easier with mobile money”

Speaking on Vodacom M-Pesa journey to IMT, M-Pesa director Epimack Mbeteni highlighted that M-Pesa had leveraged on partnerships and innovation to grow its International money transfer portfolio. 

Vodacom M-Pesa IMT journey started in 2014 and by connecting with Kenya, in 2019, they had expanded allowing M-Pesa customers to send money across East Africa and receive money from over 200 countries. This made a significant contribution to incoming money into the country’s financial ecosystem and growth of M-Pesa. 

In September 2021, they added a new feature that enabled Tanzanian customers to send remittances from M-Pesa to all bank accounts in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.

“We pride ourselves on being enablers in the payment system ecosystem by facilitating cross-border trade within the region through the efficient and seamless transfer of funds, from anywhere around the globe through M-Pesa International Money Transfer Service. Today we are pleased to announce the expansion of our IMT offering to more Pan-African countries allowing Tanzanians to send and receive money from Eight SADC countries namely South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” he said.

International remittances make it possible for people and small businesses to stay connected irrespective of geography. Mr Mbeteni further pointed out that international remittances continue to transform the lives of thousands of Tanzanians through facilitating payments in education,

health, and various business segments which is why Vodacom M-Pesa has aimed to continue providing a platform for the Tanzanian diaspora to effectively participate in socio-economic activities which will contribute to the overall development of the country.