It is now possible to receive funds sent from abroad through Western Union Money Transfer services via the M-pesa Platform ! This comes as particularly good news to Kenyans both in the diaspora and locally who have been seeking an efficient and seamless service when it comes to money transfer.On 16 July 2012 the global payments service provider announced a promotion set to run till 7 September 2012 with intent to popularize the service especially among Kenyans in America. Customers who tell at least three friends and family members through a qualifying referral about the Western Union® Mobile Money Transfer service from the U.S. to Kenya will receive a coupon for a $0-fee* transaction. To qualify for the coupon, U.S. customers must “tell a friend” through www.westernunion.com/mpesa using e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.
The new service enables consumers to be able to send money to Mpesa subscribers from nearly 170,000Western Union Agents located in 91 Countries and Territories including the USA.According to the press release from the Company: The service operates on Western Union’s worldwide network and trusted global “hub” for processing cross-border remittances. It also builds on the unprecedented success of M-PESA, a mobile money transfer service in Kenya offered by Safaricom that has attracted nearly 15 million customers since its launch in 2007. Funds are delivered directly to M-PESA subscribers and are usually available in minutes.
This facility is a ready welcome and enabler for e-commerce within the region.It is expected that the service will prove very popular among Kenyans.According to a recent Central Bank of Kenya report Kenyans in the Diaspora remitted back home a whooping US $891,107,000 in 2011.This is a lot of foreign exchange and definitely indicates that both Safaricom and Western Union are targeting an already existing and lucrative market.For Kenyans the "Mobile Wallet"service will certainly ease transactions and enhance money transfer services and usage.
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