Have you ever wanted to take advantage of those discounts and items on sale on Amazon, Aliexpress, Alibaba, and other global eCommerce sites but can’t because you don’t have a Visa card or a PayPal account? Well, now you can, thanks to Safaricom and Visa’s launch of the M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card.
The M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card is a VISA virtual card linked to your M-PESA wallet. It enables you to make payments to International online merchants for goods and services using your card details. Like the actual Visa card, this virtual card includes a 16-digit card number, the expiry date (MM/YY) of the card, and a security code called CVV.
With the launch of the M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card, the world of online shopping is about to change.
The most typical methods of payments for online shopping have traditionally revolved around debit and credit cards, as well as PayPal. Unfortunately, many Kenyans who primarily transact using M-Pesa have always found it difficult to shop on global eCommerce sites – particularly those that do not offer M-Pesa integration.
However, Safaricom and Visa’s new virtual wallet has eliminated this challenge and offered M-Pesa customers a channel to make payments globally and remit funds internationally to other Visa users. Better yet, every customer can now shop globally using funds in their M-Pesa wallets in a secure, seamless, and simple manner.
With M-Pesa, the global leader in mobile payments systems at its core, the new product offers the world to you by opening up tons of possibilities regarding sending money across continents and shopping for goods and services online.
Coupled with the tremendous capabilities of the M-Pesa Super app, which was launched in June 2021, customers can experience a customized lifestyle app that enables them to make payments for travel, including booking a flight, gift vouchers, and payment of utilities, to name a few.
How Do You Activate the M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card?
The service is available to M-PESA registered customers only. To activate it, you will need to download the M PESA App from Google Playstore or Apple Store and activate the virtual card from the Global pay button to get the virtual card. You can also opt-in via *334#, select Lipa na M PESA, then select GlobalPay.
Being a digital wallet, the card does not store balances but will mirror the M-PESA wallet balance, which you can use to make purchases online.
When you initiate a transaction, a CVV (3-digit security number) will be provided or sent as a message to you. This three-digit number is what you will use to authenticate the transaction. It expires after 30 minutes.
Once you activate the M-PESA GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card, your Safaricom mobile phone number is linked to a 16-digit Primary Account Number (PAN) that is randomly generated. Similarly, a customer can only have a maximum of one card linked with a unique customer ID; that is, only one card is permitted for an M-PESA customer who has multiple M-PESA numbers.
The virtual visa card expires after 3 years but automatically becomes inactive after 6 months of no use.
Where Can You Use the Virtual Visa Card?
The M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa card can be used to pay for any international online purchases. You cannot use the card for local purchases such as Jumia. For such, you can transact and pay using the Lipa Na M-PESA (Buy Goods).
With the virtual card, the world is yours to explore and shop. There are a ton of transactions you can make using the card. Among them include:
- eCommerce Purchases – making payments for goods and services online such as buying clothes, electronics, and shoes, among others, on international sites like Amazon, Aliexpress, Alibaba, and eBay
- Travel – making secure payments on global travel websites.
- eLearning – pay for your online classes or fees for international universities
- Bulk payments – make easy payments on global bulk buying websites
- Paying for streaming services like Netflix, Apple Tv, Disney +, and Hulu, among others
The normal M-Pesa limits will apply while paying using the M-Pesa GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card. The minimum amount you can transact is 110 shillings, and the maximum transaction amount is 150,000 shillings. Also, the usual daily limit on M-PESA of Ksh300,000 still applies.
While the transaction cost is zero, Safaricom will, however, applies a Forex Exchange markup of 3.5 percent on the prevailing forex rate to exchange from billing currency (Ksh) to the currency at the time of purchase – USD, GBP, etc.
Ready to Get Started? Activate the M-PESA GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card and Get the Eliud Kipchoge Limited Edition Merchandise
The first customers to sign up for the M-PESA GlobalPay Virtual Visa Card become eligible for rewards/sale of the Eliud Kipchoge limited edition merchandise. This includes the EK branded running shoes, jackets, running gear, water bottles, and many more! These items can only be purchased using the virtual card.
Download the M-Pesa App today on Google Playstore or Apple Store, activate the virtual card, and stand by to purchase the exclusive EK merchandise at crazy prices and all the fantastic discounts offered by the different eCommerce websites.
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