Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers and ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, today announced the launch of ‘M-Pesa’ - a unique mobile money transfer and payment service in Karnataka. ‘M-Pesa’ is the trademark of Vodafone. The service was formally launched today by senior officials from Vodafone India viz. Suresh Kumar, Operations Director – South, Atanu Batabyal, Business Head – Karnataka and Suresh Sethi, Business Head –M-Pesa.
‘M-Pesa’ empowers the unbanked and under-banked sections of the population gain access to financial services via the mobile phone. ‘M-Pesa’ effectively leverages the combined strengths of Vodafone’s global expertise in the domain of mobile payments and significant distribution reach in India plus the security of financial transactions provided by ICICI Bank. This service will now be available across 137 Tehsils, 30 Districts through 2500 specially trained authorized agents including 600 Vodafone exclusive stores in Karnataka.
The innovative use of mobile technology makes it possible for customers to enjoy a fast, simple and secure way to transfer money and make payments. Using their ‘M-Pesa’ account, customers can at their convenience:
· Deposit and withdraw cash from designated outlets
· Transfer money to any mobile phone in India
· Remit money to any bank account in India
· Make payments to recharge mobile, clear utility bills and for DTH service subscription
· Shop at select shops
· Deposit Money & Earn interest
· Participate in e-commerce/m-commerce.
Highlighting the relevance of ‘M–Pesa’ for the residents of Karnataka, Atanu Batabyal, Business Head – Karnataka, Vodafone India said, “Vodafone is always at the forefront to introduce innovative products and services that enrich the lives of our customers. We are delighted to bring to Karnataka, ‘M-Pesa’, a world class mobile banking service, in partnership with ICICI Bank. ‘M-Pesa’, is a safe, secure and convenient service to transfer money and make payments beyond the reach of traditional banking channels. For households where the earning members migrate to larger cities for earning livelihood, ‘M-Pesa’ will be the best way to send money back home to their families.”
Added Suresh Sethi, Business Head - M-Pesa, Vodafone India, “Vodafone is the world’s largest and leading provider of mobile payment services through ‘M-Pesa’, which offers millions of people including the unbanked and underserviced sections of society, basic financial services. Today, less than 5 percent of villages in India have a banking outlet. Financial inclusion is a national priority and we believe that with ‘M-Pesa’, we now have the ideal offering to facilitate the same across the country in compliance with all applicable regulations.”
Apart from Karnataka, ‘M-Pesa’ has been rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, West Bengal, Punjab, UP East, UP West, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Assam & North East, Odisha, Haryana and Tamil Nadu & Chennai and will be made available pan India in the next few months.
How does it work?
Registering for ‘M-Pesa’ is easy and simple.
Prospects may self-register from their mobile phones followed by documentation and minimum payment at an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet OR visit an ‘M-Pesa’ agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs and deposit a minimum amount along with it, to open their ‘M-Pesa’ account. The MCSL Mobile Wallet gets activated immediately and the customer can do a variety of transactions like cash deposit, transfer money to any bank account, money transfer to any other ‘M-Pesa’ customer, recharge mobiles & DTH, pay mobile and utility bills. Once the documents are verified and approved by MCSL and ICICI Bank the customer can do other transactions viz. cash withdrawal and sending money to any mobile number.
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