Global payment technology company Visa recently announced that its platform mVisa will allow its consumers, of visa-affiliated banks, to send money to each other domestically without paying for any transaction costs.
The multinational company’s platform, mVisa, was introduced in Kenya last year. It is a new mobile payment system that scans a unique retailer’s quick response or QR code to make payments. It is expected to accelerate digital commerce in the country. Visa has partnered up with various institutions to offer person-to-person (P2P) transactions. The institutions that have accepted mVisa, or have acquired retailers to accept mVisa, are KCB Bank, Prime Bank, Cooperative Bank, Ecobank, Family Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, National Bank of Kenya, NIC Bank and Barclays Bank.
Andrew Torre, Group Country Manager for Visa Sub-Saharan Africa said, “This is a significant move, especially when you consider how much Kenyans spend on transaction fees for mobile money transfers every year. With 38.9 million active mobile phone subscriptions and Sh515.9 billion in person-to-person money transfers within the last quarter of 2016, mobile money payments have become an integral part of Kenyans’ lives.
“There is a strong sense of community here with people often sending money to family, friends and even strangers in times of need, celebration or crisis. We hope to enhance this by eliminating barriers such as transaction costs, while giving customers a convenient, secure and affordable experience,” he added.
This has been made possible as a result of the Visa Developer Platform, which allowed the partner banks to be able to integrate the mVisa APIs directly into their mobile banking apps.
mVisa also gives consumers the ability to send money to a recipient’s bank account straight from their bank, regardless of whether they are using a smartphone or a feature phone, which makes it accessible to more people in the country.
