Vodafone, Safaricom and The Western Union Company announced today that they will partner to pilot a cross-border Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) service between the U.K. and Kenya. This service will enable customers to send cross-border remittances from select locations directly to Safaricom mobile subscribers in Kenya generally in minutes.

The initiative uses Western Union’s trusted global “hub” for processing cross-border remittances. It builds on the M-PESA, a mobile money transfer service in Kenya offered by Vodafone and sister company Safaricom, which has attracted over 4 million customers since its launch in March 2007.

The pilot will take place through a select number of Western Union agents based in Reading, Berkshire. Consumers can send funds to any Safaricom mobile subscriber in Kenya in a matter of minutes. Receivers can use their funds in a variety of ways, including visiting one of 4,000 M-PESA agents in Kenya to withdraw their cash, or forwarding it on to another mobile phone in Kenya.