More than 150,000 Kenyan merchants to get mobile payments with Masterpass QR

Masterpass QR in Kenya
MOBILE SOLUTION: Consumers will be able to scan a QR code in-store to make payments

More than 150,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya will be able to accept in-store mobile payments using QR code technology in 2017, using Mastercard’s Masterpass QR platform. The service is set to be introduced through “various financial institutions and other partners” from this month.

“The regional commitment to impact over 150,000 MSMEs in Kenya within 2017 is in support of the Mastercard global goal of connecting 40m micro and small merchants to its electronic payments network by the end of 2020,” the payment network says.

“The mobile solution is available via various mobile banking applications in Kenya. Consumers are guaranteed the security of being able to pay for in-store purchases by scanning the QR code displayed at the checkout on their smartphones, or by entering a merchant identifier into their feature phones.”

“Kenyans are entrepreneurial by nature, and there are incredibly exciting business ideas coming from the region,” says Daniel Monehin from Mastercard. “Technology is playing an important role in ensuring all citizens have access to solutions that help move them beyond cash.”

Masterpass QR is currently being rolled out in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania and “will soon be in a number of countries across the continent,” Mastercard adds.

Pan-African banking group Ecobank signed a memorandum of understanding with Mastercard to roll out Masterpass QR mobile payments across 33 African countries in October 2016. The Ecobank Masterpass QR service was launched in Nigeria in September last year. RBL Bank launched Masterpass QR in India in November 2016.

The launch of Masterpass QR in Kenya follows the Central Bank of Kenya’s authorisation to allow six banks to launch a mobile money transfer platform set to rival Safaricom’s M-Pesa, according to a report by Business Daily Africa.

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