Mastercard, a US-based financial services corporation, and Vodafone Fiji, an affiliate of the UK-based communications services provider Vodafone Group, have collaborated to launch the M-PAiSA Mastercard, which will give users of Vodafone Fiji’s M-PAiSA mobile money app the ability to make online and in-person purchases from the 100 million merchants that accept Mastercards. Vodafone Fiji customers can apply for the card remotely by uploading their documentation via their mobile phone. During the first four weeks of availability, 40,000 people signed up for the card.
In addition to M-PAiSA, Vodafone Fiji’s services include voice and SMS subscriptions as well as the ability to pay bus fares electronically. M-PAiSA has 335,000 monthly users, who reportedly are on track to use the service to move FJD 3 billion (USD 1.3 billion) during 2023. Vodafone Fiji was established in 1994 and is controlled by Fiji-based Amalgamated Telecommunications Holdings (ATH). In addition to Fiji, ATH has units operating in Australia, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Vanuatu.
As of its annual report for the year ending June 2023, Vodafone Group has total assets of EUR 155 billion (USD 172 billion) with operations in 21 countries and 46 partner markets.
Headquartered in the US state of New York, Mastercard connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants and governments in approximately 210 countries and territories. For the quarter ending December 2022, the firm reported net revenue of USD 5.8 billion on total assets of USD 39 billion.
By Elva Montelongo, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Mastercard press release
https://www.mastercard.com/news/ap/en/newsroom/press-releases/en/2023/mastercard-partners-with-vodafone-fiji-to-drive-financial-inclusion-and-empowerment/
Vodafone Fiji homepage
https://www.vodafone.com.fj/
ATH homepage
http://www.ath.com.fj/
ATH subsidiaries
http://www.ath.com.fj/contact-us/subsidiaries-contact-details
Vodafone Group homepage
https://www.vodafone.com/
Vodafone Group 2023 annual report
https://investors.vodafone.com/sites/vodafone-ir/files/2023-05/vodafone-fy23-annual-report.pdf
Mastercard homepage
https://www.mastercard.com
Previous MicroCapital brief on Mastercard
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-diamond-trust-bank-dtb-to-offer-fintechs-in-kenya-access-to-mastercard-payment-cards/
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