Safaricom has rolled out all its M-PESA services onto USSD in a bid to target non-smartphone users.
All M-PESA services are now available by dialing *334# from your Safaricom line enabling you send and transact without using the old SIM Card Menu feature as before.
A number of businesses, including supermarkets in Kenya have already implemented the new feature making the entire payment process for customers and businesses smooth and seamless.
SEE ALSO: Safaricom MPESA B2B Transactions Surpass the Value of P2P Transfers in Kenya
Speaking about the new service, Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom, said:
“We have embarked on a strategy to simplify our range of products and services for our customers and to provide them with an even better experience.
M-PESA on *334# is our first solution as part of the ongoing strategy and it refines how our customers interact with the service.
Customers now have the opportunity to truly confirm the details of a transaction before it can progress making reversals a thing of the past.”
By adding the USSD option, M-PESA customers will now be able to do the following:
- Directly select PayBill and Till Numbers for banks, transport, government and county government services
- Pay to personal numbers for select businesses
- Send and receive money across the world via M-PESA Global
- Start receiving M-PESA payments for your business
The new USSD feature also seem to have added a new feature dubbed ‘Mfuko Wa Biashara’ for onboarding SMEs onto the Lipa Na M-PESA (Pay with Safaricom). The idea is for small businesses to separate their business funds from personal funds and access them under the new feature.
The onboarding process is quick and seamless as the shown below:
The service is especially targeted at non-Smartphone users as an alternative to the Safaricom app, and is immediately available to all more than 25 million M-PESA customers.
According to Safaricom, this new convenient way to use M-PESA also opens up more opportunities for the company to deploy additonal M-PESA features free of the restrictions imposed by the old SIM Card Menu, including smoother functionality of services like Hakikisha which lets you see a recipient’s name before approving payment.
Over the last couple of months, Safaricom M-PESA has evolved as its growth trajectory shifts from P2P to B2B transactions as businesses leverage mobile money platforms for increased efficiency.
The addition of USSD is no doubt aimed at further enhancing business capability and further fueling M-PESA adoption within the SME ecosystem in Kenya.
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