On April 4, 2022, a major breakthrough was achieved in Kenya's digital payments landscape with the launch of seamless money transfer through merchants attached to different operators, allowing Airtel and Telkom users to pay for goods and services through Lipa Na M-PESA.
This service, exclusively applicable to Lipa Na M-PESA Buy Goods, is the first phase towards complete Merchant Interoperability, aiming to enable customers from T-kash, M-PESA, and Airtel Money to make direct mobile money payments to any merchant till number, across all networks.
The National Payments Strategy, 2022 – 2025, launched by the Central Bank of Kenya in February 2022, aligns with this proposition, emphasizing trust, security, usefulness, choice, and innovation.
According to Telkom Kenya's CEO, Mugo Kibati, "The introduction of merchant interoperability brings us closer to realising a cashless economy, further enhancing a seamless digital transactions ecosystem that gives the consumer more choice."
Airtel Kenya CEO, Prasanta Das SARMA, added, "Our customers will experience a dynamic, secure, convenient, and more affordable digital payment ecosystem for personal and business payments."
Notably, Safaricom, a key player in the industry, has partnered with other players on this innovation, enabling mobile money customers to make payments through Lipa Na M-PESA.
