M-Pesa

♤ In News:ICICI Bank, India's largest private sector bank and Vodafone India's wholly-owned subsidiary Mobile Commerce Solutions (MCSL) announced the launch of mobile-based transfer of health care subsidies directly to the beneficiariesunder JananiSurakshaYojna Scheme in Ranchi. This scheme is operated under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) of Government of India.ICICI Bank and Vodafone M-Pesa has started the pilot project in Namkum block in Ranchi district, Jharkhand.

♤ In 2007, M-Pesa started in Kenya as a CSR pilot project by Safaricom, a Vodafone subsidiary, to transfer money over mobile because it was unsafe to carry cash. But soon it changed into a financial service and became a big hit.

♤ Vodafone brought the platform to India in 2010 as a pilot in Rajasthan, and launched it in April 2013.

♤ What is M-pesa: M-Pesa is a mobile-phone based money transfer and microfinancing service, launched in 2007by Vodafone for Safaricom and Vodacom, the largest mobile network operators in Kenya and Tanzania.It has since expanded to Afghanistan, South Africa, India and in 2014to Eastern Europe. M-Pesa allows users with a national ID card or passport to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money easily with a mobile device.

♤ It gives the "power of money" on mobile phone. It transforms the existing Vodafone mobile phone into a bank account and gives a user the freedom to transact and stay in control 24x7.

♤ M-Pesa is an SMS-based service that does not need Internet technology.

♤ MCSL has been authorized by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 for Setting up and Operating a Payment System in India. MCSL is also a business correspondent of ICICI Bank.

♤ m-pesa™ is a registered trademark of Vodafone and is now available across India