TheNetWeb on M-Pesain Africa and how the heads of Visa, MasterCard and American Express could learn from it.
Launched as a pilot project in March 2007 (with help from a Vodafone investment and aid from the Danish government), M-Pesa already has more than 15 million users, 80% of Safaricom’s customers. The company now controls 75% of Kenya’s mobile phone market.
“The funds transferred by M-Pesa are equal to 25% of the country’s GNP,†said Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, an economist at the company. It’s even more remarkable when you consider that most of the transactions are for fifty cents (U.S.) or less.
Kenyans use the service today to pay for water and electric and cable bills, as well as for their children’s schools. They can use it to make purchases at certain stores, even mom-and-pop shops.
They can withdraw or deposit their money through a network of more than 2,000 sales points throughout the country, where they can buy the scratch cards containing the codes needed to fill their account.
“M-Pesa makes people’s lives easier and helps them save money while traveling,†Waceke Mbugua, director of marketing and communication at Safaricom, explained. 
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- Replicating the success of M-PESA (kariobangi.wordpress.com)
- African Lessons in Mobile Commerce (blogs.wsj.com)
