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Equity Bank and Airtel Kenya have today announced a partnership that will offer mobile commerce solutions to their customers in Kenya through Airtel Money.
Airtel Money users will now be able to withdraw money at any Equity bank countrywide. Equity Bank customers with Airtel lines will be able to pay utility bills, receive bank transaction alerts, check account balance and receive account mini-statements. International remittances like Paypal, Western Union, MoneyGram and Mastercard are next on the pipeline to be linked to Airtel Money.
The CEO’s of the two companies had this to say at the launch:
“We shall continue to strengthen our business model through innovation, enhanced use of technology, automation for a better customer experience and collaborations with industry stakeholders such as Airtel,†said Dr. Mwangi.
“This partnership with Equity Bank marks yet another milestone in deepening the accessibility of Airtel Money to our customers throughout Kenya. The 203 Equity branches and 600 Equity Bank ATMs, will complement our 10,000 Airtel Money agents spread across Kenya thus making it easier and more convenient for customers to have guaranteed access to Airtel Money deposit and withdrawal of cash,†said Mr. Shivan Bhargava, Airtel Kenya Managing Director.
Airtel Money has been playing second fiddle to MPESA for a long time but this partnership will help it grow its footprint in Kenya and will no doubt contribute to an improved market share.