Up until January 2021, Kenyans are invited to comment on a new policy document launched by the Central Bank of Kenya. This is the latest move by the east African country to promote the use of cashless transactions. Consequently, through the policy document, the bank is asking the providers of digital financial services in the country to work together and encourage adoption.
“Though the industry moved to enable interoperability of mobile wallets in 2018, this is limited to only P2P payments, and is yet to be expanded to both merchant and agent interoperability and even to work seamlessly at P2P,” noted the draft of the Kenya National Payments System 2021–2025 report.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- The CBK’s latest policy document outlines proposals on tap that could change the way FinTechs and mobile payments firms operate.
- According to the draft report, Kenya’s National Treasury and Planning agency is finalizing a digital finance policy to ensure that financial services are digitally connected.
- The central goals include open infrastructure, consumer protection, regulation and more.
“Although … Kenya’s payments landscape has undergone dramatic changes in the last ten years, there are still areas with considerable opportunities and improvement such as growth of the electronic payment instruments,” the report indicated.
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- Digital payment acceptance in the country has grown over the last five years, with several new products launched from collaborations between industry players, the report stated. One game-changer was the introduction of government-to-person (G2P) payments, which enabled mobile payments for public services.
- The anticipated release of the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS) and the Huduma Namba “will provide a key impetus to further deepen the adoption, safety and robustness of digital payments,” the report said.
- CBK data indicates P2P payments surged 87 percent between February and October, with 2.8 million new mobile users.
- The move was intended to encourage the use of mobile payments as a way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer