Mahindra Comviva, a global provider of mobile products, announced it has enabled what it says is the world's first domestic interoperable mobile financial service between Airtel Money and Tigo Pesa in Tanzania, according to a press release. The service enables customers to send and receive money directly between the mobile money accounts of these two service providers.

Mahindra Comviva said in the announcement the service is intended to enhance financial inclusion in Tanzania and complement the national financial inclusion framework, which aims to make formal financial services available to 50 percent of adult Tanzanians by 2015.

The service is intended to simplify what Mahindra Comviva calls off-net money transfers and enables recipients to transact through the convenience of their own mobile phone without cashing out, according to the announcement.

Tanzania is one of the fastest growing mobile markets and has witnessed exponential growth in the use of mobile money services, Mahindra Comviva noted in the announcement. According to data from GSMA, as of September 2013, 43 percent of the adult population was actively using mobile money services. In December 2013, the total mobile money transactions recorded in Tanzania were worth $1.8 billion, with more than 11 million active mobile money accounts and approximately 153,000 agents in the region.

"We are delighted to facilitate interoperability in Tanzania," said Srinivas Nidugondi, senior vice president and head of mobile financial solutions for Mahindra Comviva. "We have brought a paradigm shift in the mobile money space yet again, by offering an innovative and convenient service that addresses consumer concerns and leads to an increase in agility and business optimization for our customer. Our mobiquity money solution will ensure a secure environment for money transfers and cash withdrawals, making mobile money services more reliable for end users."