The new system is set for launch on Friday and will see Airtel users pay for goods and services using the Till and Paybill options.
“Lipa na M-Pesa will (have) interoperability between operators. It will benefit both consumers and operators,” the Business Daily on Tuesday quoted a Safaricom executive as saying.
This comes amid calls by regulators, among them the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), for a seamless transfer to counter Safaricom’s dominance in mobile money services.
“This trend is expected to continue increasing once initiatives such as interoperability are fully rolled out, allowing customers to seamlessly transact across the ecosystem irrespective of their provider,” CBK said.
Interoperability allows different IT systems to communicate and exchange data and has enabled customers to send money via M-Pesa to Airtel Money users for four years now.
With an 85 percent market share of non-cash payments in the country, Safaricom’s Till and Paybill service has established itself as the main mode of payment for ordinary services over card payments.
“There is limited competition for merchant acceptance in the mobile money space. This is also due to limited acceptance of competitor payment instruments,” CBK added.
“Limited interoperability in the mobile money merchant acceptance space limits payment options available to customers as well.”
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