Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telco, and Visa, the global leader in digital payments, have introduced the first M-PESA GlobalPay Visa Virtual card.
The debut of the new M-PESA Visa virtual card allows Kenyan users to go worldwide, facilitating safe cashless payments at merchant locations in over 200 countries via Visa’s global network.
To safeguard clients from suffering forex conversion expenses on local online payments billed in Kenya Shillings. The M-PESA GlobalPay Visa Virtual Card would be exclusive for international, online payments outside the country.
When a consumer uses the card, they will receive an SMS with the current exchange rate for the transaction value. At the current Forex rates, transactions will be subject to the current M-PESA limits of KES 150,000 per transaction and KES 300,000 per day.
“M-PESA has over the past fifteen years evolved from a simple money transfer service to become a robust payment platform and driver of financial inclusion for Kenyans. This has paved the way for numerous innovative services and by partnering with Visa to provide the M-PESA GlobalPay Visa virtual card, we are looking to bridge the gap for our customers who would like to use M-PESA anywhere across the world,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
The M-PESA GlobalPay VISA Virtual card is a timely service designed to satisfy the growing needs of Kenyans who use worldwide apps and shopping websites for entertainment, retail, business, and even international travel.
In addition to giving users the freedom and convenience of transacting globally, the M-PESA GlobalPay Visa virtual card strengthens M-security PESA’s by allowing customers to establish a unique CVV for a 30-minute period. Each time a CVV is generated, customers must enter their M-PESA PIN. This feature ensures that all card details required to complete a transaction are only known to the customer.
“Visa is committed to expanding the payments ecosystem across Africa by opening up the global marketplace for every single consumer. This partnership with Safaricom is an important step in helping to achieve this,” said Corine Mbiaketcha, Vice President and General Manager for East Africa at Visa. “Safaricom has already transformed how money moves in Kenya, and we are excited to be working together to develop new and innovative payments products and services that can eliminate barriers to global commerce for merchants and consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, through Visa’s global footprint.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Safaricom, especially in this era where we are seeing an accelerated switch from traditional cash towards digital spending. By leveraging our vast global network and experience as well as Safaricom’s local know-how and large subscriber base, we are charting a new path for digital payments. We remain optimistic that this partnership will go a long way in opening the global e-commerce market to Kenya’s significant unbanked and underbanked population,” she added.
Under a strategic relationship between M-PESA Africa and Visa, the M-PESA GlobalPay Visa Virtual Card will be gradually made available in other M-PESA markets via the M-PESA Super App. Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Ghana are among them.
How to activate the M-Pesa GlobalPay Visa Virtual Card
Customers can activate the card via the M-PESA App by selecting M-PESA GlobalPay, under “Pay” or “Grow” option.
They can also activate it by dialling *334# then selecting option 6 for “Lipa Na M-PESA” followed by “M-PESA GlobalPay”. Both options will require the customer to use their secret M-PESA PIN. The customer can then view their card details and generate the “CVV” required to confirm online card transactions, manage their cards, set up repeat payments and access their Mini-Statement.