Safaricom agrees deal with Alibaba for M-Pesa mobile payments

The Kenya-based mobile operating company, Safaricom, has agreed a deal with the biggest e-commerce firm in China, the Alibaba Group, according to Africa News.

Through the deal, Kenyan shoppers will be able to purchase products on the Aliexpress.com website, operated by the Alibaba, through the use of M-Pesa mobile payment service for online shopping.

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Sylvia Mulinge, Safaricom’s Chief Customer Officer, commented: “This obviously then opens up a lot more opportunity because today’s customers on this platform are limited because you must have a credit card to be able to pay. Now, we will actually be able to pay for the product or service that you are buying using M-Pesa and you pay for it in Kenya shillings currency.”

It is expected that the new partnership will not affect Safaricom’s e-commerce platform and will help the firm as it tries to address small traders needs as it expands M-PESA’s capabilities.