kenya:Smaller banks yet to adopt Pesalink money

Smaller lenders and banks headquartered outside the country are yet to get on board the digital money transfer platform Pesalink, Kenya Bankers Association has said.

KBA said the digital platform has so far been adopted by 26 of the 41 banks adding that all the big banks have already signed up for it.

“The ones that are remaining are really the smaller ones. All the big banks are on board. Some banks might have small technical hitches but they are at various stages of getting the product approval at the Central Bank,” KBA chief executive Habil Olaka said yesterday.

He said some of the lenders yet to adopt the platform have not yet received approval from their head offices especially those based outside the country.

“Once they get approvals, they start the local process of getting on board. However that is not something we are worried about,” Olaka said.

He said Pesalink which had been running on pilot basis since February had so far registered more than 3.5 million customers four months since its rollout. This is a 59.1 per cent increase from 2.2 million subscribers KBA reported after its first month.

The platform will provide bank customers with a price competitive peer to peer money transfer platform, providing 24 hour real-time services. The platform is aimed at speeding money transfer processes and facilitating interoperability within the banking sector through digitization.

“As the programme develops, we shall extend the service to the business community by facilitating transaction services,” Olaka said. “Eventually the service will support government payments placing our economy squarely in the digital age.”

Olaka said that the platform should not be viewed as competition against mobile money transfer services but rather be adopted as a complementary service office as the country moves to a more digital and cashless economy.

Speaking at the official launch yesterday, Treasury CS Henry Rotich lauded the banking sector for its efforts in using technology to spearhead a cash-light and cashless economy.

“By simplifying the way we do business between banks, this milestone will solidify the financial inclusion agenda of the government of Kenya,” Rotich said.

SOURCE:THE STAR