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Value of cashless payments in Kenya rises by 12%
25 Jan 2012

The value of cashless payments in Kenya rose by 12 per cent last year, according to new research.

Business Daily Africa has obtained figures released by the New Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) which shows that 577.9 billion Kenyan shillings (£4.32 billion) was spent on bank cards last year, compared to 517.3 billion Kenyan shillings in 2010.

This growth in the popularity of e-money payments was largely driven by an increase in the number of cards issued last year, with 2.5 million new cards given to Kenyans in 2011 to take the total in circulation to 10.1 million.

George Wainaina, the managing director of plastic payments infrastructure provider Kenswitch, claimed that advancements in payment security has encouraged more people to use bank cards.

"The use of better technologies like chip cards will allow for better security and reduce fraud," he told the news provider.

"With the increase in internet users, expect more payments to go online to the internet but the greatest challenge remains to ensure that transactions remain secure."