M-Pesa, Africa's top financing and mobile payment service
Initially released in 2007 by Vodafone, Vodacom and Safaricom, M-Pesa enables anyone in its operational territories with a mobile phone to access financial services. With a presence in Africa, southeastern Europe and India, M-Pesa has made huge strides in the financial enablement of the unbanked as well as cutting financial crime rates in cash-based societies. Customers can use the service to send and receive money, deposit and withdraw money, and pay for goods and services.
As of 2019, M-Pesa had 37 million active users, around 400,000 agents and seven operational markets. Its growth is exponential to say the least and it has started to add a number of additional services, including the overdraft facility Fuliza, which Safaricom launched in January 2019.
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