Tecno Mobile plans to commence a mobile money service in Kenya in what might lead to direct competition with Safaricom owned Mpesa, Kenya’s top mobile money service provider.
The intention to launch the service was announced by the company on May 9th this year.
Tecno Mobile says the new mobile service will allow its customers to make payments to small businesses and retailers.
Tecno will be available for download on selected existing device series and will come pre-installed on new Tecno smartphones including the upcoming CAMON 19 series sel to be unveiled in June 2022, the firm said in a statement.
Already, the service has been launched in a pilot program in Nigeria in May, and rolled-out to Kenya in the middle of June. There are plans for future launches in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal in the second half of 2022.
The new service will see customers complete payments and other financial functions in Tecno devices. This means that apart from shopping the wallet will allow users to pay for data airtime and bills. The service is already Integrated in the new devices.
“Consumers can use the wallet to handle their everyday transactions such as paying for airtime and groceries at the tap of a button, as well as access innovative financial services, all on one super-app” the company said.