Vodacom Tanzania’s M-Pesa program has announced the launch of a new online payment service through the Vinjari web-based platform that will facilitate the making of payments to local businesses that are registered with Vinjari.co.tz for services rendered within the travel industry including payments for hotels, tour packages and flights.
According to Rosalynn Mworia, head of corporate affairs and public relations for Vodacom Tanzania, the Vinjari.co.tz platform currently boasts more than 300 hotels and partners around the country and the new service will bring the M-Pesa system into the online space and provide access to online shopping to more than one million current M-Pesa customers.
“The entry of M-Pesa into the online space is a game changer that is bound to transform the conduct and uptake of online trade in Tanzania,” she said.
The new service allows online customers to use an M-Pesa bill pay number in order for the total cost of the items purchased online to be deducted from their M-Pesa account.
To date nearly 28 million Tanzanians have mobile phones and 6 million have access to the internet; this new online service will take advantage of these high levels of mobile penetration and increased access to internet services to offer online payment solutions to customers.
