“M-Pesa virtual Visa card is undercutting Kenya’s commercial banks with lower foreign exchange rates in the race to get a larger share of the country’s cross-border payments market. The virtual card, which is initially available to more than 30 million M-Pesa users in Kenya, is charging Sh121.92 to the dollar for payments across Visa’s 61 million merchants.”

“The value of payments made through cards last year dropped for the first time in six years amidst the lockdown measures and continued preference for mobile money services. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows the value of payments through point of sale (POS) machines dropped by 3.8 percent in 2020 to Sh157.72 billion from Sh164.09 billion in 2019. This drop was a reverse from the 33.3 percent and 22.12 percent growth recorded in 2019 and 2018 respectively.”

“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 innovative entrepreneurship, the establishment of incubation hubs, and for building a network of local and foreign investors.”

“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 from family and friends are now being bombarded with ads for quick money and calls from debt collectors. The market is largely unregulated, and there are no caps on interest rates.”

“The platform is offered by Integrated Payment Services Ltd (IPSL), a fully-owned subsidiary of Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), and can handle person-to-person transfers from as low as Sh10 to a high of Sh999,999. Agnes Gathaiya, CEO of IPSL, says the platform’s subscriber base has continued to grow with the number of banks adopting it rising to 30, with another unnamed six banks lining up to join.”

“In Kenya today, a consumer wants to swipe to pay at a clothing store, pay via mobile money at the grocery store, write a cheque for school fees, and pay cash at the fuel station. This highlights the changing dynamics witnessed in the payments industry in Kenya and around the globe, with consumers and businesses using multiple channels, interchangeably. We are now seeing the changing roles and innovations being employed by payment processors seeking to bridge the needs of consumers, retailers and SMEs at large.”

“Barclays Bank Kenya has unveiled a digital platform known as Timiza – through which customers can access loans, save money, pay for services like an insurance premium, water, buy goods or any other product provided by the bank instantly.”

“Kenya has started review of the law on microfinance banking as it seeks to increase their role in providing financial services especially to the increasing number of small and medium scale enterprises, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has said.”

“Almost exactly a year ago, a report from an independent consultant to Kenya’s telecoms regulator, sparked uproar and panic. It recommended the government look into breaking up the dominant mobile operator Safaricom by spinning off the even more dominant mobile money service, M-Pesa. Now, the global consulting firm that made that controversial recommendation seems to have changed its mind and it’s not entirely clear why.”