Safaricom Launches New 'M-Pesa 1 Tap' Solution

Kenya’s leading Mobile services provider Safaricom has launched tests on a new M-Pesa tool that aims at cutting the transaction process from eight steps to just one. The new technology dubbed M-Pesa 1 tap makes use of near field communication that enables a user to tap his phone or card against a Safaricom till to complete the payment process.

The pilot test of the program is being undertaken in Nakuru County before it is launched in full scale across the country.

According to the Safaricom director for financial services Richard Webb , the system is an advancement of the payment systems in Kenya that aims to speed 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,” Webb said.

The giant Telecommunication Company by rolling out this program hopes to capitalize on the adoption of cashless payments to boost revenues.

Safaricom Regional Sales Director Steve Okeyo said that 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 complete transactions.

“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,”  Okeyo said.