Safaricom has launched a new goods and services payment product dubbed M-Pesa 1 Tap.
The new product, which was launched after successful piloting which started in June last year, is aimed at enhancing Lipa na M-PESA services.
The service involves the use of either a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled card, wristband or phone sticker to make payments.
To make payments, customers will be required to tap their cards, wristbands or stickers on an M-Pesa 1 Tap Point of Sale terminal (POS), and enter their PIN on their phone to confirm and complete the payment.
The new innovation will now help enhance speed, safety, and convenience when purchasing goods through M-Pesa.
"M-Pesa 1 Tap marks the next phase in our M-Pesa journey as we bring to our customers innovations that further enhance the speed, safety and convenience of the service. We have seen the number of payments on M-Pesa now grow to the equivalent of person-to-person transactions, a testament that Lipa Na M-Pesa has indeed become an integral part of our customers’ day-to-day lives,” stated Safaricom CEO, Bob Collymore.
The M-PESA 1 Tap rollout will first be done in Nakuru County before spreading to the rest of the country.
Among its benefits is reducing the steps required to make Lipa Na M-PESA payments from eight to two steps thus enhancing speed and convenience.
Customers will also benefit from a higher level of privacy because they can now complete payments without having to show confirmation messages.
It also reduces the errors that occur when payments are made to unintended Till Numbers.
More to that, both merchants and customers across the country will be given Tap payment devices which come with two subsequent free replacements.
At the same time, Safaricom has announced that it will eliminate merchant charges for all Lipa Na M-Pesa Buy Goods transactions of Sh200 and below.
