ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Money-transfer agent Western Union Co. and British cellular carrier Vodafone Group PLC said Monday that they will test allowing customers to send money to Kenya from Britain using their cell phones.
Through Western Union agents in Reading, cell phone users will be able to transfer money to subscribers of Kenyan cell carrier Safaricom.
Vodafone owns 40 percent of Safaricom, which already operates a mobile payment service in Kenya, M-Pesa.
“The successful take-up of M-Pesa in Kenya has clearly demonstrated the demand for easily accessible, secure cash payment services in emerging markets,” said Nick Hughes, Vodafone’s head of international mobile payments, in a statement. “Our partnership with Western Union allows M-Pesa subscribers to receive international remittances and builds on the demand we have already seen domestically in Kenya.”
Western Union is based in Englewood, Colo.
