M-Pesa is a money transfer system that is designed for mobile phones. It provides financing and microfinancing options as well, and was launched by Vodafone in 2007.
It’s one of the biggest mobile network operators in Africa and operates across seven countries; Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has almost 40 million active users and employs nearly 400 000 agents across these countries.
How to Use M-Pesa
When you use M-Pesa it’s like having cash in hand. You don’t need a bank account and can spend your virtual money at any authorised outlet. You can send cash to anyone, buy airtime, and even purchase electricity or make an online casino deposit.
Once you have deposited money into your M-Pesa account, dial *111# on your smartphone and choose the Send Money option. Enter the telephone number of the person or operator you want to send money to along with the amount you want to pay, type in your PIN and press 1 to Confirm or 2 to Abort the process. You and the receiver will both then get an SMS from M-Pesa confirming the transaction.