Thanks to a new mobile money deal between MTN Uganda and Safaricom , Ugandan customers can now make mobile money transactions with Kenya. This means you can send mobile money to and from Uganda and Kenya using M-Pesa and MTN Mobile Money. This initiative is meant to offer a reliable and affordable way for businesses to transact across borders. Betty Mwangi, Safaricom’s financial services director, said
“This move by the private sector complements economic initiatives spearheaded by the East African Community heads of state, Uganda is one of Kenya’s top trading partners and the pact is not only expected to increase trade between the two nations, but also to offer cheaper remittance services. MTN Uganda customers will be able to make mobile money transactions with Safaricom’s more than 22 million M-Pesa users.
The High demand for M-Pesa in Uganda has seen unauthorised usage of the service for years driven mainly by the high Kenyan student population and traders operating from Kampala and other towns in the country. Phrase Lubega, MTN Uganda’s Head of financial services said that “Our subscribers will be able to cash out at any of our 55,000 agents across the country.”
MFS Africa, a developer and distributer of mobile financial solutions to markets across Africa has powered the transactions infrastructure between the two networks and its CEO Dare Okoudjou said: “We are confident that the cashless revolution that started in Kenya almost a decade ago, will now unlock not only intra-African remittances but also serve as a catalyst for trade and economic growth in the region.”
The funds will be sent in Kenyan shillings and received in Ugandan shillings, based on the prevailing exchange rate. This partnership comes months after Safaricom roped in Vodacom Tanzania and MTN Rwanda to introduce cross-border transaction between customers on the respective networks.
