M-Pesa

Vodafone’s M-Pesa is Coming to Romania

April 7, 2014         By: Kevin Xu

Vodafone’s M-Pesa mobile money service is coming to Europe.

M-Pesa provides the underbanked and unbanked the opportunity to send and receive money through text messaging on mobile phones.

It’s an especially popular way to store cash in areas such as Kenya, where there is a distinct lack of accessibility to banks and financial services.

Romania will be the first country in Europe to gain access to M-Pesa.

To use the service, prospective customers need to visit an authorized M-Pesa dealer or Vodafone retail location, of which 300 will be available at launch. Vodafone says that it plans to have 2,000 locations by the end of the year.

Romania, and other countries with similarly cash-based economies may find M-Pesa’s bank-like mobile money approach a viable alternative to hoarding cash.

Vodafone is also pushing for M-Pesa to become a catchall mobile payments system, where people can use their phones to pay bills, buy network services, and even pay in stores with participating merchants.

However, use cases in Kenya have proven that M-Pesa is a major avenue for money remittance, while M-Pesa’s other efforts in countries such as Egypt, and India have yet to replicate this success.

Expect Vodafone to ramp up M-Pesa launches in Eastern Europe, especially where Vodafone has a heavy subscriber base.