Paymentology has powered the launch of Africa’s first mobile-money tap-to-pay feature with Vodacom Tanzania and M-Pesa Africa, launching Africa’s first mobile-money tap-to-pay feature on the M-Pesa SuperApp.
The new capability allows M-Pesa customers to make contactless payments using their Android mobile phones at any Visa-enabled point-of-sale terminal, both locally and internationally, transforming how millions of users pay, travel and do business.
Epimack Mbeteni M-PESA sirector at Vodacom, says: “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, and reflects 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, the rollout also represents the first time this capability is available in Tanzania, reflecting a broader shift, where mobile payments and real-time digital transactions are increasingly central to the economy.
Tanzania’s mobile money ecosystem continues to expand at pace. The number of mobile money accounts reached 76,5-million as of December 2025, a rise of approximately 21% from 63,2-million in 2024, highlighting how rapidly digital financial services are becoming embedded in everyday commerce and continuing the strong growth trajectory seen in recent years.
The tap-to-pay feature is supported by its cloud-first issuing and processing infrastructure, extending the functionality of the M-Pesa Visa Virtual Card and enabling secure, tokenised, tap-and-go payments without the need for a physical card. The solution brings together mobile money, virtual cards and global card acceptance into a single, seamless customer experience.
Meagan Rabe, vice-president: merchant services, acquiring and fintech for sub-Saharan Africa at Visa, says: “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 tokenisation at the issuer level, and Vodacom provides extensive reach through its trusted M-Pesa platform, relied upon by millions. Collectively, this partnership is establishing tap-to-pay as a widely adopted payment solution for daily transactions.”
Anna Porra, chief revenue officer of Paymentology, says: “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 and next-generation payments for millions of people.”