South African mobile operator Vodacom has been awarded a licence to sell insurance as it seeks to broaden its range of mobile money services which currently include the M-Pesa payment service and a trial of NFC technology. According to local publication TechCentral, Vodacom has been awarded a licence to sell insurance direct to consumers. Previously the operator sold it via an intermediary. The change will enable Vodacom to sell insurance more aggressively to its mobile subscribers, according to the publication.  The licence was awarded by the country’s Financial Services Board. Currently Vodacom offers insurance for a limited range of products including its mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

Vodacom is already an active player in the mobile money market. Last year it launched the M-Pesa mobile money service in South Africa with Nedbank. In addition, it is currently trialling NFC technology for payments via mobile phones with another bank Absa. The two companies also plan to offer other mobile banking services.