On April 8, 2022, Kenya's mobile network operators, Telkom, Safaricom, and Airtel, made a groundbreaking announcement, marking a significant milestone in the country's digital payments landscape. The three operators have successfully integrated their mobile money service platforms, allowing customers to make payments to any merchant till number across all networks.
This development is the first phase of merchant interoperability, enabling customers to make mobile money payments to an M-PESA Buy Goods Till from any network. The second phase will see customers make mobile money payments from M-PESA to Till Numbers on other networks, including Airtel Money and T-kash.
According to the National Payments Strategy, 2022-2025, launched by the Central Bank of Kenya in February this year, the integration of mobile money services aligns with the principles of trust, security, usefulness, choice, and innovation.
Speaking on the development, Telkom Kenya's CEO, Mugo Kibati, said, "Kenya remains a global leader in the adoption of mobile money, with transactions in the billions of shillings reflecting the evolving customer demand for secure transactions."
Safaricom's CEO, Peter Ndegwa, added, "Safaricom is delighted to partner with other industry players on this exciting innovation to empower mobile money customers in the country to make payments through Lipa Na M-PESA."
Airtel Kenya's CEO, Prasanta Das Sarma, also expressed his delight, saying, "I am delighted to see Kenya take this big step to enable customers make payments to mobile money merchants, irrespective of their mobile money provider."
The integration of mobile money services is expected to offer a faster, more affordable, secure, and convenient alternative to cash payments, eliminating the hassle of transferring money across networks before making payments.
