Nairobi reacts to revenue leakage with electronic payment system

The Nairobi County e-payment system, the first cash-light system for a county government in Kenya, went live last Thursday.

The state-of-the-art technology developed and deployed by Jambopay is set to bring efficiency and convenience in revenue collection.

It enables matatu owners to pay parking fees, vendors to pay market fees, business owners to pay permit fees, estate tenants to pay rent and landowners to make land rate payments.

The e-payment system is accessible online through point of sale (PoS) terminal devices and physical agents.

Users can make payments using mobile money, debit cards, over-the-counter payments at 29 partner banks and at independent agent stalls spread across the metropolis.

The agents send money on behalf of a client but issue a receipt to confirm the transaction.

All the digital payment options offered are linked to the system through the Nairobi County e-wallet that is created on signing up.

No charges are incurred when making payments through independent agents, the e-county mobile app and using mobile money, but banks offering the service may impose a charge on transactions.

“We are not in a position to dictate the charges that banks should make but we foresee competitive rates as they try to win customers,” said DansonMuchemi, chief executive Jambopay.

To ensure that payments are made, an enforcement team was deployed after the system was launched. The team carries an advanced PoS terminal that has a camera, a barcode reader, Near Field Communication (NFC) reader, GPS, GPRS and a thermal printer.

The barcode reader authenticates the receipts and certificates issued upon payment while the GPS tracks the movement of the county officials.

The GPRS makes it possible for the officers on duty to be recalled when need arises and the camera can be used to take photographs of offenders to be presented as evidence in court in case they deny they were not available on the day of the visit.

For better customer service, the payment system is supported by a 24-hour call-centre. The system’s monitoring team comprises county revenue officers and technical experts.

Revenue officers check real-time updates from the system and ensure that the amounts collected by all departments are accounted for. The technical experts, on the other hand, ensure all systems are running uninterrupted.

“The technical team is able to tell the location of county officials doing monitoring, and if their PoS devices are on or off and if they have done any work. They are also able to diagnose and prevent technical hitches,” said Mr Muchemi. 

The system is envisaged to bring accountability in revenue collection and minimise cases of corruption by sealing revenue leakages that costs the city millions of shillings every year.

The Auditor-General report released in February revealed that Sh252 million collected by the City Council of Nairobi between January and June 2013 went into people’s pockets.

Such a system will boost revenue collection and reduce the common conflict between revenue collectors and payers.

“The new system will eradicate the long queues that were a common scene at the City Council hall. It is important for Nairobi residents to embrace the new platform because it is designed to ease payment for services offered by the county government,” said Governor Evans Kidero.

So far, there are 1,500 physical agents located within the city, but the number is set to rise to 6,000 in two months time.

To enable the officials effectively operate the devices, Jambopay has since mid-June this year held classes designed to equip the officers with the necessary knowledge. 

The county government is working on the third phase of the e-payment modules that will see automation of daily and seasonal parking payment for individuals.

The e-payment solution and the web portal are part of the Nairobi City County ICT Transformation Programme that kicked off last year and is aimed at improving efficiency and accountability in the collection and management of city funds.

Jambopay won the Sh2.7 billion tender to develop and deploy the e-payment system. The IT firm faced off against 65 potential firms that included Oracle, IBM and Silicon Craft.

Jambopay’s dream is to create such systems for 15 more counties and successfully enter into the Nigerian market.

Staying in touch with the market and using IT to complement structures and operations has been a key driver in the company’s success, Mr Muchemi said.