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A mobile banking service is transforming how the poor transfer money - here's how it works

Chris WellerDec 16, 2017, 20:48 IST

Chris Weller/Business Insider

In 11 countries around the world, some 30 million people use a mobile money service that is transforming how people handle their finances.

It's called M-Pesa, and it has lifted hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty in Kenya.

"Pesa" is Swahili for money. The Kenyan service provider Safaricom launched M-Pesa in the East African nation 10 years ago, and since then it's enabled countless people to move small amounts of their own money and send it to others.

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On a recent trip to Kenya, I got a firsthand look at how M-Pesa works on the ground.