Tanzania telcos Tigo (a subsidiary of Millicom), Airtel and Zantel agreed to launch a partnership, which allows users their money services to transfer money between each other regardless of their operator. The interoperability could reach 16 M e-money users.
This is the first agreement in Africa to adopt interoperable mobile money services, whereby one network allows another network’s customers to send money to its own clients. In the early years of the mobile industry, such agreements were common for both voice calls and SMS text messaging.
The service is expected to launch next month. Vodacom, another large operator in the country, could also join shortly.
Hans-Holger Albrecht, Millicom’s President and CEO commented, “With this agreement we can help make Tanzania a global pioneer in digital financial inclusion. Interoperability will be a catalyst for growth in the mobile money sector and is long overdue. It’s an example to operators in other countries.”
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