Uber riders across Kenya can now pay for trips through Safaricom’s mobile money transfer platform M-PESA after the two companies signed a deal to launch the venture.         

The collaboration between the two firms comes after the Safaricom and UberEats rolled out an arrangement that allows consumers to pay for deliveries through M-PESA and delivery people to also receive their earnings through M-PESA.

Their latest venture will benefit drivers who lack bank accounts, with Uber’s data showing that about 20% of drivers on the platform do not have bank accounts, the two companies said in a statement late on Wednesday.

M-PESA, which began as a simple money transfer service more than a decade ago, today accounts for almost half of Safaricom's revenue as people use it for shopping, savings, loans, and insurance. Safaricom is owned in part by South Africa's Vodacom Group.

“Through the integration of M-PESA for trip payments, we are excited to bring the ease and convenience of mobile money to riders on our platform,” said Imran Manji, Head of East Africa, Uber.     

“We are pleased to have found a partner in Safaricom in order to take this significant step towards enhancing financial inclusion in the country.”    

The U.S.-based company, which started operations in the East African country in January 2015, drawing customers by offering low prices.

Kui Mbugua, General Manager UberEats, Kenya said their partnership with Safaricom had already become a game changer for delivery staff and their customers by providing a convenient mode of payment.

Safaricom’s results for the year March show the company processed 6.4 billion payments through M-PESA.     

Data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows the number of total card payments in the country were at 70 million for the same period, making M-PESA the most preferred mode of cashless payments.

Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom's Chief Executive Officer, said the partnership with Uber will provide thousands of drivers and delivery people alongside millions of customers “a fully digital solution with faster, secure, affordable, and convenient payments” through M-PESA.    

"We maintain a strong commitment to working with partners such as Uber as they enable us to deliver more value and opportunities to our customers in line with our purpose to transform lives,” he said.     

M-PESA has grown to become the largest payments platform in Africa, with more than 40 million users and processes over a billion transactions every month, according to Safaricom. 

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)