M-Pesa customers in Tanzania can now use their Android phones to tap and pay at any Visa-enabled point-of-sale terminal in the country and abroad, following the launch of a Tap-to-Pay feature on the M-Pesa SuperApp by Vodacom Tanzania, M-Pesa Africa, Visa, and Paymentology.
The capability works through the M-Pesa Visa Virtual Card, with Paymentology handling the cloud-based issuer processing and tokenization that enables contactless payments without a physical card.
No new hardware is required; the feature runs entirely on existing Android devices and Visa-enabled terminals.
The launch is an extension of Paymentology’s existing M-Pesa infrastructure in East Africa, where the company previously partnered with DTB to simplify card issuance for fintechs, stretching its regional processing footprint.
The timing reflects Tanzania’s rapidly expanding mobile money ecosystem. Mobile money accounts in the country reached 76.5 million as of December 2025, representing a 21% rise from 63.2 million the previous year.
By prioritizing convenience and versatility, this collaboration intends to position tap-to-pay as the standard choice for daily transactions.
“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,” said Epimack Mbeteni, M-Pesa Director at Vodacom Tanzania.
Tanzanian M-Pesa users gain global payment capabilities through a collaboration where Visa handles the network, Paymentology secures the transactions via tokenization, and Vodacom provides the platform.
“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,” said Anna Porra, Chief Revenue Officer at Paymentology.
The feature is currently available to M-Pesa SuperApp users in Tanzania on Android devices.
