Oltio, the South African based mobile-centric payments and financial services company has announced at the Mobile World Congress, that it will partner with MasterCard to deliver the MasterCard Mobile Money Partnership Program (MMPP).

The program aims to help more than 2.5 billion financial-underserved customers globally to use their mobile phones to access mainstream financial services.

Terry Timson, Oltio CEO says, “Having spent several years developing secure software that will give customers access to safe mobile money, partnering with MasterCard, the world’s fastest payments processing network, gives our product the ability to extend to a wider customer base and change the lives of many more people in developing countries around the world.”

Oltio is supported by both Africa’s largest financial services provider and telecommunications operator. Over the past 8 years it has developed a number of products including payD. Branded as MasterCard Mobile, this product allows customers to buy airtime directly from mobile network operators and purchase goods on e-commerce sites using MasterCard PIN based products.

Mung Ki Woo, Group Executive, Mobile, MasterCard Worldwide says, “The addition of Oltio into the Mobile Money Partnership Program increases our collective reach and influence in emerging markets where better access to electronic payments is vital.”