Visa has entered into a strategic partnership with Jambo Pay to expand the mVisa payment solution.
The new partnership targets 3,000 more merchants.
This deal will also enhance mobile commerce since it will allow consumers to use Visa’s mobile payment solution to pay for amenities and goods and/or services in supermarkets and restaurants.
Sunny Walia, the general manager for Visa East Africa, described the partnership as part of the company’s strategy to expand adoption of the mVisa payment solution in Kenya.
Walia added that the partnership also means that more consumers and merchants will enjoy the speed and convenience that mVisa brings.
He also revealed merchants that use Jambo Pay will be issued with an mVisa QR code by their respective banks.
Side note: The mVisa QR Code is a form of a bar code that has the merchant’s information(merchant name & account number) required for the payment. You will just need to scan this QR code with the scanner built in the mVisa app to start the payment process.
Jambo Pay CEO and Founder Danson Muchemi said that the partnership will enhance payments for their clients that include Java, SODEXO, Nairobi Water, Nairobi County Government, Trans-Nzoia County Government, NHIF, KASNEB, Uchumi, Kenya Buzz among others.
He added that the partnership would result in increased revenues for better services for the clients.
mVisa Enters a Competitive Segment
M-PESA is synonymous with mobile payments in Kenya. Each day, millions of shillings are transacted via the M-PESA platform.
This is despite the fact that other mobile payment solutions such as Airtel Money and the soon-to-be rebranded Orange Money exist.
While Orange Money and Airtel Money have not managed to take on M-PESA, we cannot rule out the possibility that mVisa will be a threat.
Just like Airtel Money, mVisa offers free P2P transactions which involve nine Kenyan banks. These are Barclays Bank, Cooperative Bank, Ecobank, Family Bank, KCB Bank, National Bank of Kenya, NIC Bank, Prime Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank.
It is not yet time to tell M-PESA to move over since mVisa has to prove that its services are far better.
Over the years, M-PESA has earned a loyal following owing to the convenience, wide reach, and reliability it offers to its customers.
This means that mVisa has to come up with a life-changing feature or service that will impel people to switch.
People will not just switch if the services are the same or, even worse, sub par.
Also, there may be newcomers in this sector since Faiba has shown interest in the mobile money business.
About mVisa Payment Solution
mVisa is a mobile payment solution that supports payments to merchants and also money transfer services.
Consumers pay merchants by scanning a QR code on a smartphone. Alternatively, this can be done by entering a merchant number into a feature phone.
One this is done, the money is directly deposited into the merchant’s account. This is accompanied by real time notifications to both the merchant and the customer.
mVisa is among payment solutions that offer a cost-effective platform in Kenya.
About Jambo Pay
Jambo Pay is an online payment service that was founded in 2009.
The company offers a wide range of services namely pay bills, fees, make donations and other payments over the internet or on a mobile phone.
This payment solution also supports mobile payment solutions such as M-PESA, Airtel Money, Bank Payments, Visa, and MasterCard Debit and Credit Cards
