Africa’s largest social network already has MXit Moola as part of its mobile payment infrastructure, but they just got a little bit cleverer by partnering with Standard Bank and introducing MXit Money.

MXit Money is an app that’s been developed with FireID – a Stellenbosch-based startup specialising in mobile authentication – and as of yesterday, MXit users can now send money to anyone with a mobile phone, and to other MXit users for free.

Essentially the service will allow people to deposit and withdraw cash and buy airtime and electricity simply by using money from their Instant Money account via MXit Money.

MXit CEO, Alan Knott-Craig, expects the new venture will open the social network up to immense retail and trade possibilities giving South Africans a great opportunity to capitalise on the growing trend towards mobile payments currently being experienced around the world:

This partnership allows us to offer users the ability to transact in the real world from within their social network. Mxit Money becomes the portal to a digital marketplace of 10 million users who, with real money, can purchase content and access applications from our development partners.

To top it off, Standard Bank, an African bank, is showing the world how to integrate the old world with the new. A bank and a social network are working together to make life easier. Our users win, our partners win and the bank wins.

Taking advantage of the huge MXit user base is one way of getting around the obstacle of “technical, regulatory and user adoption challenges,” as John Campbell, Head of Beyond Payments, Standard Bank’s innovations unit, points out:

In a competitive and ever-changing marketplace, it is essential for banks to provide innovative solutions. By partnering with a social network and integrating into the Mxit Money platform, we have demonstrated that Instant Money can be used both in the digital and real world to access funds, affect payments and transfer real money between people.

We are proud to lead the digital sphere with Mxit, which continually evolves to meet changing customer and market needs. This is another demonstration of its leadership.

Memeburn’s Michelle Atagana notes MXit’s advantage:

Partnerships are key in the mobile payment game it seems when Vodacom, one of South Africa’s largest mobile networks, launched its mobile payment option MPesa, it chose to partner with an established bank, Nedbank.

Mxit’s alliance with Standard Bank makes sense as it bypasses the regulation and adoption. The bank seems to have enjoyed respectable success with its Instant Money offering, which gives customers the ability to securely transfer, withdraw and spend their money.

Clever indeed.

[Source: Ventureburn]