Ericsson said its M-Commerce Interconnect (EMI) service will simplify mobile money payments and cash collection between mobile wallet provider Vodafone M-Pesa and businesses.

The first deployment under the deal will connect M-Pesa with the network of Grundfos safe water kiosks throughout Kenya and Tanzania. Vodafone’s M-Pesa mobile money service is present in 10 countries. Other countries are expected to join.

Grundfos’ connected water kiosks dispense safe drinking water in the developing world. Across rural Africa, 50,000 water supply points have failed, mainly due to lack of funds and capacity for operations and maintenance. Ericsson and Vodafone address this challenge via efficient cash collection, reducing the risks of cash management and overhead costs for a scalable safe water solution.

“Breaking down the walls that exist in the mobile money ecosystem represents a significant leap forward in creating much-needed connections between wallet providers and enterprises. When digital payments become pervasive in cash-based societies, new opportunities that were previously unimaginable become reality,” said Peter Heuman, head of Mobile Financial Services, Ericsson.