Payments News

On The Web

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Global

Startup Bill 2020 to Benefit Startups with Majority Kenyan Ownership

September 25 2020

“The Kenyan parliament has published a Startup Bill in its National Gazette. Among several interesting provisions, the government wants to create a number of incentives for startups as well as protection for intellectual property. The Startup Bill 2020 is sponsored by the Nairobi County Senator, Johnson Sakaja, and provides a framework for the development of […]
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Global

Kenya’s Central Bank Extends Mobile Payments Relief by Six Months

June 25 2020

“Kenya will extend various relief measures on mobile phone payments that were introduced to help to curb the spread of the new coronavirus by a further six months, the central bank said on Wednesday. The East African country introduced the measures to encourage cashless payments on mobile phones because the government said avoiding the use […]
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Global

Tech Startups Are Flooding Kenya With Apps Offering High-Interest Loans

February 13 2020

“In Kenya, the first country where digital credit has gone mainstream, borrowers are learning that with financial inclusion comes financial risk. With dozens of apps offering short-term advances similar to payday loans, word of debt’s dangers is spreading from the office towers of Nairobi to the grasslands of Maasai Mara. People who once borrowed mainly […]
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Deals

Safaricom, Alibaba Unit Agree Mobile-Payments Partnership

March 13 2019

“Safaricom Plc, Kenya’s biggest mobile operator, agreed a partnership with a unit of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. that will facilitate electronic payments. The deal extends Safaricom customers’ ability to use its mobile-money service, known as M-Pesa, outside Kenya as the company looks to establish the system as a global platform. The firm has existing agreements […]
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Global

Mobile money transactions equivalent of half of Kenya’s GDP

January 25 2019

“Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that mobile money transactions stood at Sh3.98 trillion ($38.5 billion) last year, having increased by Sh346 billion (10%) from 2017. This translates to an average value of Sh10.92 ($108 million) billion mobile cash transactions per day. n short, Kenyans moved nearly half the equivalent of the country’s gross domestic […]
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Global

Mobile money transactions fall on new taxes

November 19 2018

“Mobile money transactions have declined in the wake of new taxes introduced on digital cash transfers and bank charges. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that transactions marked one of the steepest declines in several months, both in the number and value of money sent. “
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Global

Kenya’s Equity Bank Launches Jenga API Gateway

August 23 2018

“Equitel, a money management platform and subsidiary of Kenya’s Equity Bank, has launched the Jenga Payment Gateway API. The API provides programmatic access between telcos, mobile wallets, card associations, governments, credit bureaus, and banks. Between such entities, users can send and receive money, check balances and statements, open accounts and more. Businesses can utilize the API for […]

On The Wires

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Domains

O-CITY enters Kenya to drive contactless payments across Matatu bus service

November 18 2020

“O-CITY , the automated fare collection provider by BPC, today announces its initiative to drive contactless payments across bus services in Nairobi, Kenya. The O-CITY pilot, designed to reduce the use of cash in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was launched in partnership with transport savings and credit specialists, NikoDigi, and Kenyan payments firm, Tracom, to […]