Safaricom head of M-Pesa quits

Safaricom Head of M-Pesa Ronald Webb is leaving the company nearly one year since he was head-hunted from Equity Bank to drive its mobile money business.

In a statement, the telecommunications giant named Brian Wamatu to replace Webb, who is heading back to the United Kingdom to pursue personal matters. It did not elaborate.

Webb has been in charge since August last year when he was appointed as Director of Financial Services, replacing Betty Mwangi, who had left the company. He held a similar position at Equity Bank where he was heading its mobile money transfer unit, Equitel.

Wamatu will hold the position in an acting capacity. The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)- listed company said it down not expect Webb’s departure to cause any disruption in the management of M-Pesa, which is currently executing a major upgrade.

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• Equitel transfers record 21% upsurge in three months

Wamatu is currently the head of M-PESA Product Development.

Prior to joining Equity, Webb also served as the group technology officer for the Paynet Group with over 30 years of experience.

At Safaricom, he will best be remembered for spearheading the launch of introduction of M-Pesa 1 tap, which makes use of near field communication that allows a user to tap his phone or card against a Safaricom till to complete the payment process.