[신화망 나이로비 3월19일] M-Pesa, Kenya‘s largest mobile finance platform, is one of Africa’s most notable examples of innovation.
M-Pesa, jointly launched by Safaricom and British telecommunications company Vodafone in 2007, started out as a simple mobile remittance platform and has evolved into a comprehensive service platform that provides banking, credit transactions, and digital payment services to millions of people around the world.
According to Safaricom, more than 60 million people currently use M-Pesa every month across Africa, including Kenya, and beyond.
This innovation is said to have been possible thanks to the ingenuity of Safaricom and Vodafone, as well as China’s technology, expertise, and support for terminals.
Safaricom selected Chinese big tech company Huawei to upgrade its mobile payment system.
Huawei has expanded M-Pesa’s service capabilities through partnerships with Safaricom and Vodafone. Huawei experts helped improve infrastructure to enable the system to handle large transaction volumes and introduce new services, such as real-time bill payments.
Following Safaricom’s long-standing partnership with Huawei, Huawei helped move M-Pesa servers from Germany to Kenya in 2015.
Commenting on the server move to Kenya, Nairobi-based information technology (IT) consultant Bernard Mwaso said it was a key move to stabilize the platform and accelerate growth.
“If your servers are in different jurisdictions, issues like system downs take longer to resolve. This leads to a poor customer experience.” His words.
He added that M-Pesa grew rapidly after the server transfer and that the number of subscribers also increased rapidly as the company diversified its business into banking services, real-time utility bill payments, and overseas remittances.
“It is undeniable that China has had a significant impact on M-Pesa’s success, not only through the expertise they provide, but also through the mobile devices Kenyans use,” Mwaso said.
As he said, Chinese smartphones are dominating the market throughout Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. In many stores, popular budget brand smartphones such as Infinix, Tecno, iTel, and Xiaomi were being sold at a low price of about $30 despite their excellent performance.
These inexpensive devices have enabled millions of Kenyans to own smartphones, enabling them to use a variety of digital services such as online shopping and mobile banking, further fueling the growth of M-Pesa.
Cooperation with Chinese digital payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay also played an important role in M-Pesa’s advancement into a global digital payment network. Through this collaboration, M-Pesa expanded its reach into international e-commerce and cross-border transactions. The explanation is that M-Pesa’s international payment capabilities have been strengthened by supporting easy online shopping without complicated currency exchange procedures.
“Through these partnerships, Kenyan consumers and businesses can participate in global e-commerce without the need for credit cards or complicated bank accounts. Freelancers can also work for companies in China and around the world and get paid easily.” Mwaso says.
Original source: Xinhua News Agency Korean News Service
