Vodafone on Monday announced the launch of Vodafone M-Pesa, its mobile money service between Tanzania and Kenya.
The mobile money service enables Vodafone M-Pesa customers from the two East African countries to use their mobile phones for money transfers between countries via a network of 180,000 agents.
Formal remittances between Tanzania and Kenya were around $133 million in 2012, according to the World Bank.
The cost for M-Pesa transfer of $50 between Tanzania and Kenya will be around 1 percent of the transaction plus a foreign exchange fee against up to 31 percent of the transaction in the case of banks or money transfer operators.
Michael Joseph, director of Mobile Money at Vodafone, said: “With a substantial unbanked population transacting mainly in cash, the Tanzania-Kenya corridor represents a significant opportunity for M-Pesa.”
