Visa has launched a QR code based mobile payment service, mVisa, in Kenya in conjunction with four banks – Co-Operative Bank, Family Bank, KCB and NIC Bank to deliver this service to Kenyan consumers and merchants.
Initially launched in India in August 2015, mVisa enables consumers pay for goods by scanning a QR code on a smart phone or entering a merchant number into their feature phones. Funds move from the consumer’s Visa account into the merchant’s account and provides real-time notification to both parties.
mVisa will be available for both smartphone and feature phone, with the potential to provide a mobile payment service to nearly all 38 million active mobile phone users in Kenya. Consumers can also use mVisa agents for domestic remittances as well as to access their cash if there is no ATM machine nearby.
“It is an exciting time as we work with our Kenyan partners to bring a new mobile payment solution to accelerate commerce,” said Andrew Torre, Group Country Manager for Visa in Sub-Sahara Africa.
“Kenyans already understand the benefits of mobile payments, and mVisa offers them a better way to pay and be paid, with a service which is not limited by the mobile network they have or the handset they use. The service also brings the advantages of Visa’s global network – security, reliability and global acceptance – and allows consumers to make payments both domestically and internationally.”
He continues “In addition, mVisa provides significant benefits to merchants by allowing them to receive real-time payment notifications that the payment has been made to their bank account without having to invest in costly point-of-sale hardware. So everyone benefits.”
Visa announced last month that it was planning to launch mVisa in Nigeria before the end of the year.
