After launching in other regions of India this spring, M-Pesa, the mobile money transfer and payment service owned by Vodafone, has launched in Delhi and national capital region. Vodafone said the service will be available through 1,400 authorized agents and across 130 Vodafone retail stores.

M-Pesa debuted in Kenya in 2007. Through the service, users can deposit and withdraw cash from designated outlets, transfer money to any mobile phone, remit money to bank accounts, make payments to recharge mobile phones and pay utility bills. Users with a subscription can use the service for e-commerce and m-commerce transactions.

Last fall, Vodafone announced plans to roll out M-Pesa in India through a partnership of Vodafone India and ICICI Bank. In April, the service was launched in Kolkata, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkland.

"Vodafone is the world's largest and leading provider of mobile payment services through M-Pesa, which offers millions of people, including the unbanked and under-serviced sections of society, basic financial services," Suresh Sethi, business head, M-Pesa, said in a news release. "Today, less than 5 percent of villages in India have a banking outlet. Financial inclusion is a national priority, and we believe that with M-Pesa, we now have the ideal offering to facilitate the same across the country in compliance with all applicable regulations."

Vodafone India Business Head (Delhi) Subrat Padhi said the companies expect a small number of people to adopt the service initially. "If classical marketing theory is anything to go by, usually about half to one percent of people adopt a new product," he said in the release.

Vodafone, one of the world's largest mobile network operators, has more than 403 million customers worldwide. It owns or partners with more than 50 networks in more than 30 countries.

As India's largest private sector bank, and the second largest bank in the country, ICICI Bank has consolidated total assets of more than $122 billion. It operates in 19 countries including India.

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