Kenya’s biggest mobile operator Safaricom Plc has reportedly agreed to a partnership with a division of the Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd in a bid to advance electronic payments. 

As per trusted sources, the deal allows Safaricom’s customers to use its mobile-money service called M-Pesa beyond Kenya, since the company is looking launch the system internationally. The company has existing agreements with payment firms such as Paypal Holdings Inc and Western Union Co, reported sources.

According to trusted reports, the partnership will enable Alibaba’s e-commerce service AliExpress’s shoppers to pay for purchases via M-Pesa. The service also targets Kenyan micro-traders who source goods and other supplies from China, stated the company located in Nairobi.

Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Chief Financial Service Officer at Safaricom, said in a statement that the partnership signifies yet another significant milestone not only for Safaricom’s efforts to take M-Pesa out of Kenya but for Kenya’s place in the international online retail marketplace.

According to Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer at AliExpress, mobile money equals 30 percent of Safaricom’s revenue and is estimated to grow 14 percent in the forthcoming fiscal year. Moreover, nearly 46 percent of global e-commerce transactions that take place in Kenya are performed through AliExpress, she added. 

A news report by the CIO states that AliExpress customers selecting M-Pesa as their payment option will have their overall cost shown in Kenyan Shillings along with the usual Lipa Na M-Pesa bill charges applied to each transaction. Shoppers will also be able to use their post box numbers as the delivery address for their orders. The service is already available on the AliExpress app and will be active on the website over the coming weeks, stated the report.

The number of transactions on Lipa Na M-PESA has witnessed continuous growth, with data from Central Bank of Kenya depicting mobile phone as the most favored mode of cashless payments in the country, reported sources.