Bitcoin payment service Bitwala announced that it has launched a solution to send and receive funds using bitcoin, to mobile money transfer application MPesa.
The launch comes on a mission to offer everyone with the fastest, safest and most affordable way to send and receive money. With the launch, Bitwala users can perform money transfers to any MPesa account using bitcoin and the BTC to MPesa service is currently available in four countries namely Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, for free of charge.
“We want to be a part of the mobile money revolution, and we’re stepping it up a notch by enabling anyone to send money to any MPesa account using bitcoins,” Jörg von Minckwitz, CEO of Bitwala, stated.
First introduced in Kenya back in 2007 by Safaricom in partnership with Vodafone, MPesa was designed as a solution for foreign workers in sending remittances back home. MPesa also provides unbanked people with a more affordable and easy payment system.
In sub-Saharan Africa, mobile phone penetration continues to rise with roughly 76% of the population having a mobile phone subscription, the release stated. With MPesa, users can transfer money through a phone with a registered sim-card.
