This archive report was first published on 8 October 2019.
Mobile money service M-Pesa has seen significant growth in revenue outside Kenya, reaching Sh6.2 billion in the three months to June 2019, a 42.7 percent increase.
This growth is attributed to the increasing popularity of M-Pesa in Africa, with the service now available in several countries including Tanzania, DR Congo, Mozambique, and Lesotho.
According to Vodacom Group's trading update for the quarter ended June 2019, the number of customers outside Kenya increased by 686,000 or 11.6 percent to 14.2 million.
Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub noted that the company has over 14 million customers using M-Pesa and continues to extend the ecosystem, thereby extending its reach and giving customers more ways to transact.
The increased revenues from these countries translated to 17.7 percent of the Sh62 billion posted as international service revenue.
However, despite this growth, M-Pesa's performance in the four markets trails that of Kenya in terms of revenue and customer numbers.
For comparison, Safaricom posted Sh74.99 billion or about Sh18.7 billion per quarter from its 22.6 million active users in the financial year ended March 2019.
Vodacom is seeking to conclude the acquisition of an M-Pesa branded platform at Sh1.39 billion, a move that will see it secure control for future revenues.
Mr. Joosub noted that the company expects to conclude the acquisition of the M-Pesa brand and platform and together with the recent launch of VodaPay, to further enhance the performance of its financial services business.
According to Vodacom, M-Pesa customers in Tanzania grew 6.9 percent to 7,277 while that of Mozambique was up 19.6 percent to 4,028. DRC posted 7.4 percent growth to 2,284 as Lesotho users increased 44.9 percent to 597.
On average for the quarter, 720 million transactions were processed monthly through the M-Pesa system outside Kenya, growing at 22.8 percent year-on-year.
However, the group notes that it expects modest customer growth in Tanzania and the DRC, following the implementation of more onerous customer registration requirements.
Additionally, Vodacom launched an M-Pesa overdraft service in Tanzania, similar to Kenya's M-Pesa 'Fuliza', which gives customers instant access to credit to enable them to make money transfers or remit bills when they have insufficient funds in their accounts.
