Kenya’s M-Pesa mobile money service now works with China’s WeChat Pay – Quartz
What happened: Chinese WeChat Pay users are now able to accept payments from the East African country of Kenya. Family Bank, a financial institution headquartered in the country’s capital, along with London-based fintech company SimbaPay have launched a platform enabling users of Kenyan mobile money service M-Pesa to remit cash to users of the Tencent-owned payments platform.
Why it’s important: The move likely targets Kenyan traders who purchase Chinese goods to sell in the East African country. A service like this could make remittances quicker and cheaper than going through traditional transfer systems. Chinese payment services like WeChat have been expanding their offerings abroad, making tourism and trade easier for Chinese citizens by signing up merchants in foreign markets. Both WeChat and Alipay also allow Chinese tourists to claim tax refunds before leaving their holiday destination or after returning home.