When you need to send funds from one location to another, try wiring the funds over your cell connection. That's what Vodafone, Safaricom and the Western Union Co. have in store with their cross-border Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) service between the United Kingdom and Kenya.

The service will use Western Union's global hub and builds on the mobile-transfer service M-PESA, which Vodafone and Safaricom offer in Kenya.

A pilot program will take place through a select number of Western Union agents based in Reading, Berkshire in the United Kingdom. Consumers can send funds to any Safaricom mobile subscriber in Kenya in a matter of minutes.

Receivers can use their funds in a variety of ways, including visiting one of 4,000 M-PESA agents in Kenya to withdraw their cash, or forwarding it on to another mobile phone in Kenya.

"The successful take-up of M-PESA in Kenya has clearly demonstrated the demand for easily accessible, secure cash payment services in emerging markets," said Nick Hughes, Vodafone's Head of International Mobile Payments, in a statement. "Our partnership with Western Union allows M-PESA subscribers to receive international remittances and builds on the demand we have already seen domestically in Kenya."

According to the three parties, MMT micro-payments are an alternative to bank transactions, since many people in Kenya don't have bank accounts. More than 10 million Kenyans have mobile phones, however.