The mobile payment platform M-Pesa was launched in 2007. /CMG
Chinese technology has helped M-Pesa, an electronic mobile payment platform, to maintain smooth operation in Kenya.
Launched in 2007, M-Pesa has gained popularity because of a special function that allows users to transfer money and make payments using a feature phone service even when they do not have a smartphone or their phone cannot connect to the internet.
"I think M-Pesa has revolutionized payment in Kenya. It's very easy for me to make payments," Miller, a hotel manager, told China Media Group (CMG).
"I can pull money from bank and put it in my M-Pesa account and use it when I want – in a restaurant, in a supermarket, paying bills directly from my phone. For the same thing, at mall and also for the hotel and apartments, it's very easy for our guests to pay," Miller said.
However, a rapidly growing users base has brought technical challenges to the service. In 2012, due to a large number of users and insufficient platform capacity, the withdrawal service often used to get crashed on Fridays.
Chinese technology helped the operator build a more stable and powerful second-generation M-Pesa mobile payment service.
"We worked with them to build up the platform which can support tens of millions of users to use the 'mobile pocket.' Its business success rate has greatly increased and the time for breakdown every year has been dramatically reduced," Meng Wei, head of the Kenya representative office of a Chinese technology provider, told CMG.
The Chinese technology provider also makes effort to improve user experience and develop more services.
"The M-Pesa has integrated a strong ecosystem in which users can book train tickets and flights on the platform. We hope to use Chinese technology to help people of Kenya to fully enjoy the development of digital economy. We believe that in the era of digital economy, no one should be left behind," said Meng.
