Bitwala Adds Four African MPesa Outlets

Bitcoin-based payment platform Bitwala has added four African countries to its money transfer service. Customers can now make money transfers to any MPesa account using bitcoin in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Uganda.

“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 bitcoin,” said Bitwala CEO Jörg von Minckwitz.

To send money to any MPesa account using Bitwala, users register with the platform and choose a “mobile money” payment. An invoice to be paid in bitcoin is then sent to the user.

First introduced in Kenya in 2007 by Safaricom in partnership with Vodafone, MPesa was intended to be a solution for foreign workers hoping to send remittances out of their location. MPesa is also used by unbanked people to transfer funds.