Chapa, the Ethiopian payment gateway established in 2020, has recently joined forces with Safaricom Ethiopia to integrate M-Pesa as a payment option at the Chapa checkout. Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Chapa’s mission is to empower businesses in Ethiopia to embrace digital payments. By April this year, it had processed over 1 billion ETB (Ethiopian Birr) transactions since the start of 2023. This was an impressive 500% increase over the previous year’s transaction volumes.
Earlier this year, Safaricom obtained the license to introduce M-Pesa in Ethiopia. With over 1.2 million M-Pesa users in the country and a growing number, this partnership holds significant potential.
The Partnership Benefits
The collaboration streamlines the payment process for over 1.2 million M-Pesa users in Ethiopia. This allows them to effortlessly make payments on the Chapa platform using their M-Pesa accounts. This expanded payment method offers users more flexibility in purchasing goods and services, ensuring a seamless and convenient transaction experience.
Chapa and M-Pesa both stand to gain from this partnership. The anticipated increase in transaction volumes translates to greater revenue for both entities. Users may find M-Pesa a preferred option at checkout, especially if the process is smoother compared to other payment methods like bank cards.
In a statement, Chapa reassured M-Pesa users, stating, “As a valued customer, there is no need for any additional steps to enable your M-PESA account; it will automatically appear as ‘M-PESA’ on the checkout page. If not, you can enable the option from your Chapa dashboard.”
What Other Payment Methods Does Chapa Accept?
Chapa accepts a number of payment methods including Credit and Debit cards such as Bank of Abyssinia, Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Diner Club, American Express, JCB, etc. It also accepts Digital wallets like Telebirr, CBE Birr, Coop-Ebirr, Wegagen HelloCash, Enat Bank Wallet.
Also Read: How Tingg by Cellulant is Revolutionizing Utility Payments in Zambia