M-Pesa shortens transfer times to just 30 seconds

Kenyan telecommunications firm Safaricom has recently upgraded its mobile banking platform M-Pesa to provide close to instantaneous Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term.

The overhaul to the mobile payment platform results in transfers being completed within 30 seconds. This is a dramatic improvement as opposed to the previous 2 hour wait time.

"Innovation is a continuous process at Safaricom and that is why we have been seeking ways to deliver services to customers with speed and efficiency. Twelve leading banks and 26 SACCOs have already migrated to the new platform and migration is on-going for 30 other institutions," stated Safaricom's CEO Bob Collymore.

The new transfer time will help streamline M-Pesa’s operations in the region. M-Pesa is used as a remittance service, a payment method, and way for employers to pay their employees.

Given the rural communities where the majority of the population is, M-Pesa provides a now even faster and simpler banking alternative. Since the service was first introduced in 2011 it has seen a 262% growth, with just 3.3 million registered users in December 2011 to 9 million in December 2013. These numbers are expected to increase to 13 million by the end of this year.

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