Joy to Airtel subscribers as safaricom launches the interoperability -the ability of different IT systems to communicate and exchange data – of the two rival networks for merchant payments .

Airtel subscribers will this week start paying for goods and services through Safaricom’s Lipa na M-Pesa , enabling a seamless transfer of money through merchants attached to different operators .

Regulators led by the Central Bank Of Kenya (CBK) have been fronting for a seamless transfer to curb the dominance of Safaricom’s mobile money service and Lipa na Mpesa , which handled payment worth sh970.2 billion in the year January .

“Lipa na M-Pesa will have interoperability between operators . It will benefit both consumers and operators ,” Said a top executive of Safaricom .

Airtel’s version of merchant payments services is dubbed Lipa na Airtel Money ,but is less preferred to Safaricom’s payments.

Business owners are charged a maximum of 0.5 percent or not more than sh 200 per transaction for money collected on the till .

There is no charges for payments using Lipa Na M-Pesa buy goods and services except for settlements made at fuel stations .