Mastercard, Safaricom Partner on Cross-Border Payments

Mastercard and Safaricom have partnered to improve payment acceptance and cross-border remittances in Kenya. The partnership will benefit over 636,000 merchants using M-Pesa and enable them to serve customers globally. This collaboration will provide faster and more reliable payment solutions for Kenyan businesses and their customers.

Streamlining Cross-Border Transactions

The multinational payment card services corporation, Mastercard has partnered with Safaricom to accelerate the adoption of payment acceptance and cross-border remittance services in Kenya. The partnership is expected to benefit over 636,000 merchants using Safaricom’s mobile money service Mpesa.

By leveraging M-PESA’s extensive merchant network and Mastercard’s global payment infrastructure, the partnership will avail seamless and more secure payment solutions to merchants enabling them to serve customers across global markets. The collaboration will also boost remittance services and efficiently streamline cross-border transactions.

Commenting on the collaboration, Amnah Ajmal, Executive Vice President, EEMEA, Mastercard, said:

We are proud to partner with Safaricom to build an inclusive digital economy that works for everyone, everywhere. We will enable the merchants to grow and contribute to the Kenyan economy.

By integrating Mastercard’s infrastructure, Safaricom will not only improve cross-border money transfers but also provide faster and more reliable transfers. This will advance its ability to support merchants in accepting digital payments.

Esther Waititu, Chief Financial Services Officer at Safaricom Plc, said the partnership with Mastercard creates new opportunities for M-Pesa merchants. This aligns with the Kenyan mobile network operator’s broader goal of delivering innovative and customer-centric products.

Waititu said the combination of Safaricom’s expertise and Mastercard’s global acceptance network enables local businesses to provide more efficient and frictionless payment solutions to their customers, both in Kenya and beyond.