Vodacom Tanzania Plc and M-PESA Africa have announced the debut of a mobile-money Tap-to-Pay service, which is expected to change the regional digital economy.
M-PESA customers can now make contactless payments at any Visa-enabled point-of-sale terminal, both locally and abroad, using their Android smartphones.
According to a statement, the initiative, which was developed in collaboration with Paymentology and Visa, is the first time this capacity has been made available in Tanzania.
It marks a significant transition as mobile payments and real-time digital transactions become more important to the national economy.
This expansion builds on Paymentology's existing relationship with M-PESA in Kenya. It builds on Paymentology's 20-year track record of payment innovation in African markets to provide the framework for future expansion throughout the region.
The launch coincides with an increase in digital finance. Mobile money accounts numbered 76.5 million as of December 2025, up roughly 21% from 63.2 million in 2024, demonstrating how quickly digital financial services are becoming integrated into ordinary trade and maintaining the robust growth trend witnessed in previous years.
The solution, which is powered by Paymentology's cloud-first architecture, adds capabilities to the M-PESA Visa Virtual Card.
The M-PESA SuperApp now combines mobile money, virtual cards, and global acceptance into a one seamless experience by allowing safe, tokenised tap-and-go payments without the use of a physical card.
Meagan Rabe, Visa's vice president of merchant sales for Sub-Saharan Africa, stated that the advancement is the result of extensive collaboration throughout 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 at Paymentology, added: “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.”
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