Safaricom eyes easier M-Pesa use with tap solution

Safaricom has begun tests on a new M-Pesa tool that cuts the transaction process from eight steps to just one.

This follows the introduction of M-Pesa 1 tap that makes use of near field communication that allows a user to tap his phone or card against a Safaricom till to complete the payment process.

The service is currently under tests in Nakuru County before being launched full scale across the country.

Safaricom director for financial services Richard Webb said the system is an evolution of the payment systems in Kenya aimed at speeding up and making payments much easier.
“We have also made paying with M-PESA 1 tap much cheaper and also the transaction below Sh200 is for free hence beneficial to that mama Mboga and boda boda persons,” Mr Webb said.
M-Pesa has become the second largest revenue driver for Safaricom, generating Sh55 billion for the telecom operator in the full year ended March 31.

By targeting traders, Safaricom hopes to capitalize on the adoption of cashless payments to boost revenues.
Safaricom Regional Sales Director Steve Okeyo said customers will tap their cards, wristbands or stickers on an M-Pesa 1 Tap point of sale terminal and enter their pin on their phone to confirm and complete the payment.

“So today we are here to launch the M-Pesa 1 tap and actually this is a mark of innovation as far as Lipa Na M-Pesa is concerned. Nakuru was just chosen as a testing county for the new development but we hope after 3 months we shall have rolled to other parts of the country,” Mr Okeyo.
The number of Lipa Na M-Pesa transactions grew from half that of person-to-person M-Pesa transactions in 2015/2016 to equal the latter in the six months to September 2016.
The adoption of near field communication eliminates chances of risk by the buyer while making the transaction process shorter.