Safaricom has partnered with American financial services firm Western Union to launch MpesaGlobal, a service that will facilitate international mobile money transfer.

“open up a world of possibilities with Mpesa and Western Union” is the slogan for MpesaGlobal.

Mpesa global will enable more than 21 Million M-Pesa customers to instantly send money to any individual across the world from their phones, making M-PESA the first mobile money service that allows users to send money globally.

“M-PESA is now a true financial companion, meeting your financial services needs both within the country and abroad,” said Safaricom Director Sylvia Mulinge.

To use #MpesaGlobal, one just needs to update their Safaricom App or better still use the USSD code *840#. The daily limit remains at KES 140,000. The recipients will receive the money either through their bank accounts or Western Union’ s agent locations across the globe.

Mpesa global will come in handy especially to Kenyans in the diaspora.

“M-PESA Global similarly empowers Kenyan entrepreneurs to instantly access opportunities anywhere in the world. It allows you to focus on what matters. It takes away the hassle of grappling with where to find Forex,” Sylvia Mulinge said.

Kenyans in the Diaspora

Kenyans in the diaspora are the biggest source of foreign exchange (foreign currency) in the country and as such a significant contributor to the country’s economic growth. Kenyans abroad are sending more four times more money than they did a decade ago.

The Central Bank of Kenya conducts a survey on remittance inflows every month through formal channels that include commercial banks and other authorized international remittances service providers in Kenya.

According to CBK, by the end up August 2018, Kenyans in the Diaspora remitted USD 266,186.58  (Sh 260 B), a remarkable high compared to the USD 166,411.72 remitted within the same period last year.