Confusion reigns ahead of switch to cashless fares
From left: Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai, Nairobi senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko and Tigania East MP Mpuri Aburi during the launch of a card for paying commuter fare at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi on May 27. Photo/FILE
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The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the agency in charge of the transition, was talking at cross purposes on Monday over whether cash would be accepted in matatus.
Cofek secretary- general Stephen Mutoro said banning use of cash in paying fares would be wrong because the public had not been educated on how the system works.
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai accused the government of failing to issue licences to the service providers on time.
Confusion surrounds the roll out of a cashless system for settling fares in public service vehicles with a consumer watchdog threatening court action ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the agency in charge of the transition, was talking at cross purposes on Monday over whether cash would be accepted in matatus.
“Those who will not have complied with the law will have to show cause as to why they have not conformed to the requirement even after we gave them enough time,” NTSA chairman Lee Kinyanjui.
His stance appeared to contradict that of the NTSA director-general Francis Meja who last week said that commuters would be allowed to use cash to pay fares even as the new system was implemented.
“We don’t expect the cashless payment system to be 100 per cent by the deadline time. We will monitor its uptake from next week and determine the new switch-off date. It’s not a one day cut-off, but a journey,” Mr Meja said. The system uses prepaid cards.
Cofek secretary- general Stephen Mutoro said banning use of cash in paying fares would be wrong because the public had not been educated on how the system works.
“The system, while timely, has been hit with low consumer education that has seen PSV operators asking for more time while consumers fear higher costs, losses on the card balances and bidding farewell to their privacy,” said Mr Mutoro.
The system assumed all commuters were literate, that they have phones or debit cards and that they knew how to use them, he said.
Loss of cards, he said, would boost revenues of banks and other entrepreneurs at the expense of consumers, arguing that security and regulation of the master servers linking the banks and the PSV machines are not guaranteed.
“This can only mean that with single hacking, billions of high security data could fall in the hands of criminals,” he pointed out. “Cofek will be watching the rollout with interest and will move to court to stop the process in the event chaos persist,” he added.
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai accused the government of failing to issue licences to the service providers on time.
“As operators, we were very ready to switch to the cashless system, but the government has failed to issue licences to many service providers,” Mr Kimutai said, adding that most of the systems had not been integrated to accept different cards.
Firms offering the service require Central Bank of Kenya approval.
Safaricom, Google in partnership with Equity (Beba Pay) and a Hong Kong firm (TaptoPay) are some of the firms that will offer the services.
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