MTN Rwanda has entered an agreement with Safaricom in Kenya that will allow MTN Mobile Money and M-PESA users to send and receive money seamlessly between the two countries
Gunter Engling, CEO of MTN Rwanda, said, “We are determined to strengthen the path we are taking towards financial inclusion in Rwanda and I believe that this new partnership will be a powerful driver of economic growth.”
To send money to Uganda or Kenya, MTN Rwanda customers will be required to dial *830# from their handsets and follow prompts where they will also view the equivalent amount to send based on prevailing foreign exchange rates. They will dial *182# and go to Pending Approvals. Upon sending they will receive a confirmation message that the transaction has gone through.
On the receiver’s side however, Safaricom has a transaction limit for its M-PESA users, at about US$660. If the recipient has a previous balance, which, together with the transferred funds exceeds that amount, the sender will be prompted to input a smaller amount.
Betty Mwangi, director for financial services at Safaricom, said, “This initiative will not only be of benefit to the customers who may need to send money between the two countries, but will also provide a reliable and affordable way for businesses to transact, thereby helping grow the East African economy.”
This move comes a month after MTN Rwanda introduced cross-border transactions between its network and MTN Uganda, aimed at deepening financial inclusion and boosting regional trade.
Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa, the pan-Africa mobile wallet aggregator behind the service said, “We are very excited to continue our long-standing partnership with MTN Rwanda, and especially to extend mobile remittance services to both Kenya and Uganda.”
