Vodafone, ICICI bank launches ‘M-Pesa’ to Maharashtra

Vodafone India and ICICI Bank on Tuesday, launched ‘M-Pesa’ a unique mobile money transfer and payment service in Maharashtra.

‘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 286 Tehsils, 33 Districts through 4080 specially trained authorized agents and across 387 Vodafone exclusive retail stores in Maharashtra.

Ishmeet Singh, Business Head – Maharashtra & Goa, 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 Maharashtra, ‘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, “We are the world’s largest and leading provider of mobile payment services through ‘M-Pesa’, which offers millions of people including the un banked and under serviced 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 Maharashtra, ‘M-Pesa’ has been rolled out in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, West Bengal, UP East, UP West, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Goa and will be made available across the country in a phased manner.

How does it work?

Registering for ‘M-Pesa’ is easy and simple. Vodafone customers need to 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.

"Exciting news! Elets eGov is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest insights!" Click here!
Be a part of Elets Collaborative Initiatives. Join Us for Upcoming Events and explore business opportunities. Like us on Facebook , connect with us on LinkedIn and follow us on Twitter , Instagram.