Paymentology, the leading next-generation global issuer-processor, has powered the launch of Africa’s first mobile money tap-to-pay feature in partnership with Vodacom Tanzania Plc and M-PESA Africa, now available on the M-PESA SuperApp.
This new capability allows M-PESA customers to make contactless payments using their Android phones at any Visa-enabled point-of-sale terminal, both locally and internationally, transforming how millions of users pay, travel, and conduct business.
Epimack Mbeteni, M-PESA Director, Vodacom, said:
What began as a simple idea—giving M-PESA customers the freedom to tap and pay anywhere using just their phones—is now a live reality. This launch is the result of deep collaboration across Vodacom, M-PESA Africa, Visa, and Paymentology, reflecting our shared commitment to making payments simpler, safer, and more accessible for millions of people.
While marking Africa’s first mobile money tap-to-pay launch, this rollout also represents the first time the feature is available in Tanzania, signaling a broader shift in which mobile payments and real-time digital transactions are increasingly central to the economy. Tanzania’s mobile money ecosystem continues to grow rapidly, with the number of accounts reaching 76.5 million in December 2025, up roughly 21% from 63.2 million in 2024, highlighting how embedded digital financial services have become in everyday commerce.
Reflecting Paymentology’s long-standing commitment to accelerating innovation, financial inclusion, and access to digital payments across Africa, the tap-to-pay feature is supported by its cloud-first issuing and processing infrastructure. It extends the functionality of the M-PESA Visa Virtual Card, enabling secure, tokenized, tap-and-go payments without the need for a physical card. The solution combines mobile money, virtual cards, and global card acceptance into a seamless customer experience.
Meagan Rabe, Vice President of Merchant Services, Acquiring and Fintech for Sub-Saharan Africa, Visa, added:
The advancement of mobile money tap-to-pay is the result of effective collaboration within the payments ecosystem. Visa offers a robust global network and contactless infrastructure, Paymentology facilitates secure tokenization at the issuer level, and Vodacom provides extensive reach through its trusted M-PESA platform, relied upon by millions. Together, this partnership is establishing tap-to-pay as a widely adopted payment solution for daily transactions.
This rollout builds on the successful collaboration between Paymentology and M-PESA in Kenya and reflects Paymentology’s more than 20-year track record supporting payment innovation across African markets. Extending the partnership into Tanzania lays the foundation for further expansion across the region and highlights M-PESA’s continued evolution beyond domestic payments, as real-time, interoperable digital systems account for a growing share of economic activity.
Anna Porra, Chief Revenue Officer, Paymentology, said:
At Paymentology, we believe innovations like tap-to-pay accelerate financial inclusion by making everyday transactions simpler and safer for everyone. This launch marks an important step forward for the country’s digital economy. We’re proud to support Vodacom and M-PESA, alongside Visa, with the issuer-processing capabilities that enable fast, secure, next-generation payments for millions of people.
In Tanzania, tap-to-pay creates new opportunities for merchants and entrepreneurs to serve customers who increasingly expect contactless, mobile-based payments, while giving consumers greater freedom to pay securely wherever Visa is accepted, both domestically and internationally, through the familiar M-PESA mobile money interface.
Read More: Mobile Money in Africa: Driving Financial Inclusion and Economic Growth
