Money transfer service SimbaPay and Family Bank Kenya have partnered to launch a payment service between Kenya and China using China-based chat and payment product, WeChat.

Regional media have reported that using QR codes, SimbaPay developed a third-party payment aggregator that enables funds delivery into WeChat’s billion plus user network.

Over seven million Family Bank customers and businesses are expected to access the mobile-based money transfer service through the Bank's Pesa Pap mobile app (USSD), while non-customers will access the service through the M-Pesa paybill payment option.

"This is a huge milestone for us and our customers. We are glad to extend, more so to our SME customers, a solution that offers an instant, reliable, traceable and affordable channel to send money to their suppliers and business partners in China," said Godfrey Kamau, Family Bank Chief Operations Officer.

SimbaPay co-founder Sagini Onyancha added, "This is a game changer for China-Kenya trade. It has been a joy working with the Family Bank team to deliver this solution to the market in record time .

WeChat is estimated to have over 1 billion users. In 2017, businesses in Kenya imported over US$ 4 billion worth of goods from China, making it the best channel for communication and payments.

Until now, sending money to China would take several days before deposit is confirmed. Now, all the sender requires is the recipient's phone number.

"With the increased efficiency provided by this new service, traders in Kenya will replenish stock faster, thus bolstering trade between the two nations," reads a statement from Family Bank.

"Additionally, financial inclusion will be positively impacted as more small scale traders will be able to directly source goods from China instead of depending on middlemen to make payments on their behalf," it concluded.