KCB in conjunction with GoSwiff – a global mobile commerce and marketing solutions provider- have unveiled a strategic deal to offer a new mobile payment facility targeting Kenyan merchants.
The Bank aims to upsurge its financial inclusion and cashlite agenda footprint via the use of GoSwiff’s mobile point of sale (mPOS) facility. Through a mobile high performance Bluetooth card reader merchants can now access on line commerce while in remote environments.
Speaking about the partnership, KCB Retail Director, Annastacia Kimtai reiterated the Bank’s commitment to deepen financial inclusion and empower businesses, through embracing the latest technologies to enhance customer experience.
“The deal will see new category of merchants, and their customers in Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) such as taxi drivers, restaurants, and schools among others access e-payments. This innovation will increase transparency while in the long term maximize revenue and improve on efficiency. We are keen to deepen our digital payments agenda as the EastAfrican economy increasingly goes cash-lite,” she said.
The use of digital payments is helping create a new generation of merchants, who are able to accept payments in methods other than cash, and also benefits customers – by making the transaction easier, safer and more efficient.
GoSwiff’s CEO, Simone Ranucci Brandimarte said: “A time has come when financial institutions— and society’s expectations of them— are changing rapidly. We are leading the way in innovating and providing secure payment solutions that help banks and merchants meet the growing demand for digital payments in both emerging and developed markets.”
“We are delighted to have been selected by KCB to provide our mobile point of sale service, and are confident that it will benefit Kenyan merchants and consumers over the long-term,” he added.
GoSwiff has extensive experience in implementing similar solutions across Africa, and focus on aggregating multiple forms of digital payments. KCB’s mPOS solution will initially accept Visa, MasterCard and JCB.
The effort is in line with the Kenyan Government’s efforts to increase electronic payments – particularly in the areas of public transportation, government payments and distribution – amid wider moves across the region to move towards a cash-lite society. KCB continues to reach out to the unbanked population through alternative financial delivery channels to capture the untapped market.
