Kenya’s leading mobile phone service provider, Safaricom has won yet another global award for its money transfer service, M-PESA.
M-PESA, which was developed in association with Vodafone, won the Best Mobile Money Service award at a GSMA Global Mobile Awards gala dinner in Barcelona , Spain last night.
This is the second time the company has won an award at the world renowned GSMA event. During last year’s Congress, Safaricom was feted for its Marketing campaign – ‘Send Money Home’ which was designed to demonstrate to customers how to use the M-Pesa service.
Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michael Joseph, who received the award on behalf of Safaricom, said the M-PESA service was now a necessity to millions of Kenyans who have no access to banking facilities in the country.
“We are very proud of the M-PESA service. It continues to impact positively on the millions of Kenyans who have no access to banking services. I would like to thank all everyone who has worked tirelessly to ensure that M-PESA is the success it is today.” said Joseph.
Safaricom launched M-PESA in March 2007; the service continues to register steady growth with more than 10,000 new users being registered daily.
“Over 5 million customers now subscribe to M-PESA in Kenya . This take-up clearly demonstrates the demand for easily accessible, secure cash payment services in emerging markets,” said Nick Hughes, Vodafone’s Head of International Mobile Payments. “Our collaboration with Safaricom has been extremely successful and we are delighted to receive recognition for this achievement.
Judges said the M-PESA money transfer service showed the diverse ways a mobile phone could be engaged to serve, not only for voice and data purposes, but also as a banking tool.
“An accessible and intuitive solution, reflected by an unprecedented take-up rate for a service of this kind, M-PESA will serve as a blueprint for other operators around the world. Targeting the unbanked, this provides a simple means for people to safely transfer and carry money.”
The service allows Kenyans to transfer money fast, safely and affordably using the mobile phone. Through M-PESA, a customer can send money to another mobile phone user, withdraw cash, buy airtime for themselves or another prepaid subscriber, pay bills and make loan repayments.
More than 450 companies spanning internet, finance, advertising, music, television and gaming submitted entries for this year’s Awards, reflecting the diversity and breadth and depth of the telecommunication industry.
The judges further noted that even in uncertain economic times, mobile is seeing continued growth, with more than 4 billion mobile connections globally driven by innovation in new services, applications and ever richer mobile content.
ITNewsAfrica.com Kenya
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