Google starts taking payments for apps via Kenya's M-Pesa service

M-Pesa transaction in Nairobi; you can now use to purchase apps from Internet giant Google

NAIROBI, KENYA: Google Play apps and games store has started accepting payments in Kenya through Safaricom’s mobile phone M-Pesa service to boost downloads in a market where many people do not have a credit card.

M-Pesa, which enables customers to transfer money and pay bills via mobile phone, has 27.8 million users in the nation of 45 million people where Google’s Android platform dominates. M-Pesa has been mimicked across Africa and in other markets.