Systems vary in detail, but Nairobi resident Mary Wanjiku uses M-PESA, the continent’s first such system set up by Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom, to send money to her mother in the countryside every month.
Here’s what happens:
- Mary and her mother go to their nearest M-PESA agents with their official IDs and mobile phones to register themselves and their SIM cards on the system.
- Once she has activated her account and chosen a four-digit password, Mary charges up her account by giving the agent cash. The transaction and balance are confirmed via an SMS.
- Mary then transfers, via SMS, 3,000 Kenyan shillings ($38.40) to her mother’s mobile phone account. M-PESA charges her a flat fee of 30 shillings.
- Her mother receives the SMS and keeps it on her phone until the local M-PESA agent passes through her village. She then transfers that money to the agent’s phone via SMS, and the agent gives her the cash. Her mother is charged 45 shillings, a fee proportionate to the size of the withdrawal.
- Mary can also send money to friends who have not registered for M-PESA or who use a different phone network. In these cases, the fees at both ends of the transfer are higher.
Mobile money transfer has made life simple for the African residents and its getting extremely popular day by day. In UAE people can transfer mobile credit to another number but its restricted to mobile phone numbers within one operator. This service is very popular among the expatriates.
Source: ET
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