Safaricom, Telkom Integrate Mpesa and T-kash Services

The country's mobile money transfer platform is set for a new frontier after the announcement of an integration of Safaricom's and Telkom's services.

Telkom and Safaricom during the weekend announced that customers will now send money across their T-kash and Mpesa accounts, a crucial addition to the mobile money interoperability penetration.

The changes set to take effect on October 4, 2018, will see their mobile money transfer customers send and receive money from their wallets seamlessly.

The telecommunication's services providers noted that the addition of T-kash to the interoperability initiative is a significant step towards the attainment of the financial inclusion agenda in Kenya.

Telkom and Airtel are yet to finalize the processes that shall pave way for mobile money transfer services across T-kash and Airtel Money, a process the entities say is ongoing.

Once this is completed, the Kenyan market shall be on the path of complete realization of a complete ecosystem with the smooth transfer of money to and from Safaricom, Telkom and Aitel mobile wallets.

With the new changes, customers can send and receive money from those on a different network.

The money sent from a different network shall be added directly to their account balance the same way it usually reflects whenever sent from a customer on the same network.

"The customer will not be pressured to withdraw their money within seven days as it is already in their mobile money wallet. The only condition to enjoy interoperability is that the customer must be registered on either T-kash, Airtel Money or Mpesa. Customers who are not registered on mobile money will continue to receive voucher codes," the announcement reads in part.

Airtel, Telkom, and Safaricom intend to offer customers cost advantage when sending money on-net and off-net as there will be no additional costs when sending money to a customer on another network.