Zain, which provides service in 22 countries across Africa and the Middle East, was facing a regulatory roadblock with Kenya's Central Bank but Zain's bank in Kenya, Standard Chattered, filed the requisite papers to settle issues that the government had raised.

To address security concerns raised by the Central Bank, Zain Kenya CEO Rene Meza emphasized the increased security and flexibility that the company has employed, pointing out that during the pilot phase, the service was used by several international companies operating in the region.

The launch of Zap represents the latest chapter in Zain's work to push the boundaries of mobile communications, said Saad Al Barrak, Zain Group's CEO. "For any market in the world, the combination of services we are providing would be exciting; but when set in an African context, the implications are especially profound," Al Barrak said.

Zap is expected to reach over 100 million people in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and compete with Mpesa, Safaricom's mobile money transfer service offered in Tanzania through Vodacom Group.

To address cross-border regulatory and banking issues, Zain is partnering with Citigroup and Standard Chartered to support the product.