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U.K.-based telco’s mobile money service reports 27.1% increase in active customers.
Vodafone on Monday revealed its M-Pesa mobile money service now boasts 25.3 million active customers.
The U.K.-based telco said its user base grew by 27.1% in the 12 months to 31 March, driven by launches in Albania and Ghana. M-Pesa is now available in 11 countries.
"I am delighted and proud that M-Pesa has reached the 25 million active customers milestone," said Michael Joseph, director of mobile money at Vodafone, in a statement.
"M-Pesa continues to expand, evolving beyond traditional money transfers to encompass savings and loans, payments of salaries and benefits, settlement of utility bills and school fees and to enable vital health and agricultural solutions," he said.
In addition to enhancing M-Pesa’s capabilities, Vodafone has also been working hard over the past 12 months to make it interoperable with other mobile money services.
In March 2015, Tanzania became the first market in Africa in which major operators, including Vodafone’s local Vodacom unit, agreed to interconnect their mobile money services.
A month later, Vodafone partnered with South Africa-based MTN to enable M-Pesa users and MTN Mobile Money users to transfer funds between each other.
In November 2015, Vodafone signed a framework agreement with African remittance hub MFS. It struck a similar deal in February this year with TransferTo.
In the past year, Vodafone M-Pesa has also enabled international remittance services for customers in Albania, Lesotho and Romania.
"M-Pesa has enhanced the lives and livelihoods of people without bank accounts, giving them access to essential financial services through their mobile phones," Joseph said.
