The Vodafone deal bringing money transfers to 200 countries
A new deal between Vodafone, developer on money transfer facility M-Pesa, and MoneyGram will give M-Pesa users the ability to transfer funds globally.
People will be able to send money to an M-Pesa account direct, using an app or MoneyGram's website.
The agreement between the mobile giant and fund transfer company will give customers the ability to transfer money from around 200 countries to M-Pesa users – of which there are several million across Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
The World Bank estimates that over half of inhabitants in countries which M-Pesa is available don’t have access to a traditional bank account.
M-Pesa is used by direct money transfer charities like Give Directly, but is predominantly used as a low-cost method to transfer funds across borders and rural areas.
Michael Joseph, Vodafone director of M-Pesa said:
There is huge demand for sending funds back to family and friends in your home market and an estimated $90bn per year is transferred to M-Pesa markets from around the globe. Our partnership with MoneyGram provides the most extensive global network and greatest number of access points for consumers wishing to transfer funds to M-Pesa users.