Kenyan platform PesaLink, which facilitates real-time fund transfers between bank accounts, is introducing a merchant payments feature. The announcement was made on X, following an M-PESA service disruption that has caused difficulties for consumers trying to make payments for products and services using the paybill service.
PesaLink said on X, in response to customers who have been requesting for the feature for a long time; “Most PesaLink Payments are business-related: bulk transactions, invoices, rent and more. Watch this space for merchant payments… some news coming soon!”
A PesaLink customer has requested that the platform establish itself as an independent entity, separate from its current partners, the Kenyan banks.
“Pesalink needs to have an app and its own ecosystem that integrates with payment services and allow us to withdraw through local agents,” the customer, Kiruti Itimu said. Another fintech users, Saruni Maina, added, “Actually, PesaLink needs to have a merchant payment option to rival Lipa na M-PESA.”
Lipa na M-PESA is a cashless payment platform that supports various products, with two being the most prevalent. First, the M-PESA Till, a service that enables business owners to receive payments and utilize the collected funds directly from the till. Second, the M-PESA paybill service, a service that allows businesses to routinely collect payments from customers through M-PESA.
PesaLink, initiated by the Integrated Payment Service, a profitable subsidiary of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) in 2017, has seen success through its operation by an impartial agency (KBA). This has significantly reduced instances of conflicts of interest among local banks.
PesaLink provides cost-effective and faster real-time transactions, differentiating itself from other options like real-time gross settlement (RTGS) or cheques. Moreover, clients can transfer up to KES 1 million ($6,135) to another bank account for a fee of KES 150 ($0.92), exceeding M-PESA’s current limit of KES 500,000 ($3,067).
