To the millions of Smartcash and Mpesa users around the world, booking and paying for tickets online with RwandAir just got easier. Thanks to a new set of partnerships, customers can now use Mpesa and Smartcash to purchase their RwandAir flights, no matter where they are travelling.
Mpesa is a mobile phone based money transfer and microfinance service that was launched in 2007 by Safaricom in Kenya and Vodacom in Tanzania. The “M” stands for mobile while Pesa is the Swahili word for money. Over the years, Mpesa has expanded to East and Southern Africa, India and Eastern Europe. In 2012, the number of registered Mpesa accounts had grown to 17 million. As an airline, RwandAir is pleased to avail the Mpesa payment option on our Internet booking system to the more than 17 million users of the mobile money system.
The creators of SmartCash, R-Switch, envisage the payment scheme as one that sits proudly alongside international brands like VISA and MasterCard. This year R-Switch is taking SmartCash to the next level by introducing online payment to debit cardholders of local banks in Rwanda. SmartCash is now a domestic card association scheme boasting ten member banks. The scheme is issued by banks as a debit, prepaid and soon a credit card facility, allowing electronic transactions around the country. The scheme has accumulated over 300,000 cardholders in the three years since it was launched. As we embrace e-commerce and online business solutions, RwandAir is excited to be the first merchant to accept SmartCash online payments.
RwandAir aims to provide seamless connectivity – from the moment you log on to our website,www.rwandair.com, to buying your ticket and transiting through our hub at Kigali International Airport. By expanding the payment options available to our customers, we look forward to making your life just a little bit easier, and your travel experience with RwandAir even better.
Published on: November 23, 2019