Kipochi, a Kenyan firm, has launched a new service that enables users in the country to receive virtual currency Bitcoin and then convert it into M-Pesa, the country’s dominant mobile money service.

Pelle Braendgaard (pictured), Kipochi’s co-founder, wrote in a blog that the integration between the two systems offers a faster and more cost-effective means for users to receive international remittances via mobile phone than with banks or money transfer services.

Kipochi works on all mobile phones which have SMS, USSD and HTML5 front ends, as well as desktop computers, said the blog.

The firm is privately owned, although it does not provide any further ownership details. As well as Kenya, it also has an office in Nicaragua.  It says it is not directly affiliated with Safaricom, the Kenya’s dominant operator which runs M-Pesa.

The strength of the Kipochi-to-M-Pesa service is obviously not fostering a rival with M-Pesa but filling in gaps around what it does.

“In a country like Kenya it doesn’t make sense to compete directly with M-Pesa on what it does best. There is nothing better anywhere in the world for person to person payments as long as you’re within Kenya and on the Safaricom network.

Where we can make a difference in Kenya is with international and cross network transfers. We will support Airtel, Orange and Yu here in Kenya. Also you will be able to send funds to M-Pesa users in Tanzania from Kenya, which M-Pesa doesn’t currently support,” wrote Braendgaard, in a Q&A on Reddit.