Safaricom and Ant Financial Services, a fintech services provider have today announced a partnership that will allow Kenyan Shoppers in AliExpress pay for their goods and supplies via M-Pesa.
The move is set to benefit micro-traders who source for goods and supplies from manufacturers in China while promoting M-PESA as a global mobile money transfer and payments platform.
“Our more than 21 million customers can now enjoy the safety, reliability and convenience of M-PESA when shopping on AliExpress, a leading, global e-commerce marketplace. This partnership seeks to connect Kenyans to even more business opportunities by enabling them to seamlessly source, purchase and import goods from the world’s leading manufacturer,” said Sylvia Mulinge – Chief Customer Officer, Safaricom.
M-Pesa will be available as a payment option to the Kenyans shoppers on Aliexpress.com. The payment channel will have their total cost displayed in Kenya Shillings with standard Lipa Na M-PESA Paybill charges applicable for each transaction.
Once customers select M-PESA, they will then key in their mobile phone number and will subsequently receive a prompt on their phones to type their M-PESA PIN to complete the payment. The option of using their post office box numbers as the delivery location for their items will also be available.
“We are keen on leveraging the power of mobile technology to transform lives, and we see a great opportunity to do this by connecting people to people, to knowledge and to opportunities. We believe that the mobile phone has the ability to pull down some barriers to trade by enabling global e-commerce, and this partnership with Ant Financial Services marks yet another important milestone not just in Safaricom’s efforts to take M-PESA beyond Kenya, but to Kenya’s participation in the international e-commerce marketplace,” added Sylvia.
The service is already live on the AliExpress app and will be available on AliExpress.com in coming weeks.
