KCB Bank Kenya, in partnership with fintech firm Craft Silicon, has convened businesses and ecosystem partners to explore how payment systems can be made more seamless and efficient in everyday commercial transactions.

The initiative reflects a broader push within Kenya’s financial sector to modernise payment infrastructure, reduce friction at the point of sale and improve the overall customer experience, particularly as digital commerce continues to expand.

At the centre of the discussions is the role of innovation in enabling faster, more reliable transactions for both merchants and consumers.

According to David Nyamu, General Manager for Sovereign & Public Sector at KCB, simplifying payment acceptance is critical to unlocking business growth.

“When payment acceptance is simple and reliable, businesses are better placed to serve more customers, improve turnaround time, and participate more competitively in the formal economy,” he said.

What you need to know 

A key highlight is the rollout of the Tourist App, a mobile-based platform designed to simplify payments for international visitors.

The application allows tourists to make contactless payments directly from their mobile devices using Visa or Mastercard, removing the need for cash or physical cards.

Merchants, on the other hand, can accept payments on their own devices, streamlining transaction processes without requiring additional hardware.

This approach is particularly relevant for Kenya’s tourism sector, where ease of payment is increasingly seen as a factor influencing visitor experience and spending behaviour.

Strengthening financial inclusion

The collaboration between KCB and Craft Silicon underscores a wider effort to deepen digital financial inclusion across Kenya.

By reducing dependence on cash and enabling merchants to accept payments through existing devices, such solutions aim to bring more businesses into the formal financial system while improving transaction transparency and efficiency.

This is especially important in a market where mobile money has already transformed payments, but gaps remain in interoperability, merchant adoption and cross-border transactions.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, the ability to accept digital payments without complex infrastructure can lower barriers to entry and support expansion.

A competitive payments landscape

Kenya’s payments ecosystem is among the most advanced in Africa, driven by widespread mobile money adoption and increasing fintech innovation. However, competition is intensifying as banks and technology providers seek to differentiate through convenience, speed and user experience.

Solutions like the Tourist App reflect a growing trend towards integrated, mobile-first payment systems that cater to both local and international users.

As digital payments continue to evolve, partnerships between financial institutions and technology providers are expected to play a central role in shaping the next phase of growth.

For KCB and Craft Silicon, the focus is building systems that not only process transactions, but also enable businesses to operate more efficiently and compete in an increasingly digital economy.

If successfully scaled, such initiatives could further strengthen Kenya’s position as a leading hub for digital financial innovation in Africa, while delivering tangible benefits to businesses and consumers alike.

Talking Points

It is encouraging to see KCB Bank Kenya and Craft Silicon focusing on simplifying payment systems, particularly in a market where speed and convenience increasingly define customer experience.

The Tourist App stands out as a practical solution, especially for international visitors who often face friction with local payment systems. Enabling contactless payments directly from mobile devices removes a key barrier and improves ease of spending.

At Techparley, we see this as part of a broader shift towards mobile-first, hardware-light payment solutions that lower the cost and complexity of accepting digital payments for businesses.

The ability for merchants to accept payments on their own devices is particularly significant. It reduces reliance on expensive POS infrastructure and makes digital payments more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises.

This also has wider implications for financial inclusion, as more businesses can participate in the formal economy without needing heavy upfront investment in payment infrastructure.

As KCB and Craft Silicon expand this initiative, partnerships across tourism, retail and public sector channels could help accelerate adoption and deepen impact.

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