Sylvia Duruson
Safaricom and the Kenya Bankers Association have put forward a strategic proposal to elevate Pesalink into Kenya’s primary fast payment system. The initiative aims to consolidate the country’s diverse digital payment platforms under one unified system, addressing the current fragmentation in the financial ecosystem.
Pesalink, managed by the KBA’s fintech arm Integrated Payment Services Limited, currently processes digital transactions worth $8.5 billion. This established infrastructure provides a foundation for the proposed national payment system. The platform’s proven track record makes it an ideal candidate for expansion into a comprehensive payment solution.
Kenya’s existing payment landscape requires banks, SACCOs, and fintech companies to navigate multiple private agreements for mobile money system connections. Creating an entirely new fast payment system would require approximately $200 million and four years of development time. Upgrading Pesalink offers a more time-efficient and cost-effective solution to achieve modernization goals.
The proposed enhancement would require significant technical upgrades. The system needs capacity for processing 6,000 transactions per second, along with advanced security features and robust risk management systems. These improvements would enable seamless transactions between various financial platforms, including M-Pesa, traditional banks, and fintech services.
Ali Hussein Kassim, chairman of the Association of FinTechs in Kenya, emphasizes the economic benefits of this integration. The unified system would facilitate easier transactions across platforms, supporting the growth of Kenya’s digital economy. This standardization could reduce transaction costs while maintaining consistent service quality throughout the financial network.
While some countries like Colombia operate with multiple payment switches, Safaricom and KBA advocate for a single, enhanced Pesalink system. This approach would simplify regulatory oversight and ensure operational consistency. The Central Bank of Kenya continues to evaluate the proposal as industry support for the infrastructure upgrade grows stronger.
