Asit Shekhar, Business Head Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Vodafone India said that 'M-Pesa' empowers the unbanked and under-banked sections of the population gain access to financial services via the mobile phone. 'M-Pesa' effectively leverages the combined strengths of Vodafone's global expertise in the domain of mobile payments, significant distribution reach plus the security of financial transactions provided by ICICI Bank.
To register for 'M-Pesa', Vodafone customers need to visit an 'M-Pesa' agent outlet, fill up a form, submit identity, address proofs and deposit a minimum amount along with it, to open their 'M-Pesa' account. The MCSL Mobile Wallet gets activated immediately and the customer can do a variety of transactions like cash deposit, transfer money to any bank account, money transfer to any other 'M-Pesa' customer, recharge mobiles & DTH, pay mobile and utility bills.
Suresh Sethi, Business Head - M-Pesa claimed that "We are the world's largest and leading provider of mobile payment services through 'M-Pesa', which offers millions of people including the un banked and under serviced sections of society, basic financial services. Today, less than 5 percent of villages in India have a banking outlet. Financial inclusion is a national priority and we believe that with 'M-Pesa', we now have the ideal offering to facilitate the same across the country."