Airtel Ghana has partnered with Verifone Mobile Money to launch NFC-enabled devices to Airtel merchants that will act as terminals, allowing more than 1.5 million registered Airtel Money users to make payments using their mobile.

Airtel Money recently announced they had passed 1.5 million subscriber mark in Ghana, offering the ability to link bank accounts and electronic wallets for simple and secure transfer of money across accounts in Ghana.

“All the customer needs to do is a contactless tap at the NFC device with their mobile phone to effect payment via their mobile wallet,” Airtel explains. “Customers without NFC-enabled devices will receive a sticker.”

“We believe that NFC technology and the rollout of contactless ‘tap and pay’ across the African continent will help to realise the true economic benefits of cashless economies, while driving mobile money adoption through an improved merchant payments experience,” says Chris Jones, chief executive of Verifone Mobile Money.

“This is a more efficient mode of payment as it reduces the number of steps customers have to go through to make a mobile money payment,” adds Lucy Quist, managing director of Airtel Ghana. “The use of this new technology will further deepen the growing acceptance of cashless payments in Ghana.”