Tanzanian mobile networks Tigo, Airtel and Zantel have announced Africa’s first mobile money interoperability agreement.

The  agreement allows mobile money customers to transfer cash to each other regardless of whether they are using Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money or EzyPesa on their mobile handsets.

The service is expected to begin this month says the parent company of Tigo, Millicom.

Millicom further says this could allow 16 million people in the country to send mobile money to each other.

“This is the first agreement in Africa to adopt interoperable mobile money services, whereby one network allows another network’s customers to send money to its own clients,” says Millicom in a statement.

“In the early years of the mobile industry, such agreements were common for both voice calls and SMS text messaging,” adds Millicom.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, Millicom’s president and chief executive officer, said, “With this agreement we can help make Tanzania a global pioneer in digital financial inclusion. Interoperability will be a catalyst for growth in the mobile money sector and is long overdue. It’s an example to operators in other countries.”

Tigo has over 6.2 million customers in Tanzania overall and 3.4 million users of its Tigo Pesa mobile money service, says Millicom.

Earlier this year, Millicom also launched the world’s first cross-border mobile money service with currency conversion between Tanzania and Rwanda.