Vodafone has brought its M-Pesa mobile money transfer and payment service to Europe today. The service, which was launched in Kenya seven years ago, is now being offered in Romania.
Customers of Vodafone Romania can use SMS text messaging to pay utility bills, make a deposit, withdraw cash from an M-Pesa agent, purchase goods or top up a prepaid mobile phone account. The maximum daily limit is 30,000 lei (around £5,500).
Michael Joseph, Vodafone’s Director of Mobile Money, said “The majority of people in Romania have at least one mobile device, but more than one third of the population do not have access to conventional banking. Vodafone M-Pesa is already used regularly by nearly 17 million customers and we look forward to bringing the significant benefits of the service to the people of Romania.”
Over €900 million is transferred between Vodafone M-Pesa users every month.