Tap To Pay is a concept that Kenyans have not really been accustomed to. As much as customers are gradually focusing on making contactless payments for many of their daily transactions, leading players in the country are still lagging behind.
Safaricom once trialled the service back in 2021 with M-PESA 1Tap which was the quickest way to pay using MPESA. The service ended up dying a natural death.
Market.us predicts that Tap To Pay and other forms of contactless payments are estimated to be valued at USD 90.6 billion by 2032 from USD 22.4 billion in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 15.4% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032.
In Kenya, Visa is now partnering with local banks and fintechs to roll out the service. Using this payment technology, customers with Android handsets and Garmin wearables will now be able to make contactless payment transactions.
Visa showcased this payment tech during a recent media tour of its Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Innovation Studio in Nairobi. The global payments technology company is already working with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Absa as well as Loop.
The new Tap To Pay service allows customers to make in-store payments through their banking App by tapping their Near-field communication (NFC) enabled smartphones at any contactless-enabled payment terminal.
The service is powered by Thales, a leader in digital security and leverages Visa’s tokenization capability to enable customers to enjoy a new level of convenience, no longer needing a card or a physical wallet when transacting.
Visa said it is continuously working with its partners in the banking sector to enable new and enhanced experiences for consumers.
During the media tour, Cab hailing app Little also showcased how it has integrated Visa’s Tap To Pay payments solution into its driver’s app. The feature, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks will allow customers to pay for their rides using the technology.
The growing preference for the use of cards to make payments is evident by the latest statistics by Central Bank Kenya (CBK) which indicate that the use of bank cards to shop for goods and services hit a record high at 4.4 million transactions by May 2022 from a low of 676,275 transactions in August 2014. The trend indicates increased consumer spending and the attractiveness of the convenience of the payment option.
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