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JamboPay signs up agents to sell Nairobi e-parking tickets

JAMBO

An e-ticketing machine. Motorists can now pay for parking in four banks. PHOTO | FILE

Web Tribe, the owner of JamboPay electronic payments platform hired to automate payment of parking tickets in Nairobi, has started signing up agents to sell e-tickets to motorists.

Chief executive Danson Muchemi says the firm has recently signed agency deals with nine banks, Uchumi Supermarkets, 25 matatu saccos, and small traders, giving it access to a total of 1,800 agency outlets.

“People can now pay their parking fees at the agents’ shops, and one can also top-up their electronic wallets at the agents and make the payments themselves,” said Mr Muchemi in an interview.

The move is expected to make it easier for motorists to pay their parking fees through JamboPay, the exclusive platform through which the transactions are routed.

It expands the payments and top-up options beyond the previous mobile money services of M-Pesa, Airtel Money and Orange Money; gadgets operated by county staff, and online through a portal hosted on the county government’s website.

The banks signed up so far for the agency deal include Equity, Family, National and Co-op, which have signed on thousands of agents over the past few years.

Mr Muchemi said Web Tribe will share a fraction of the commissions it earns on the service with the agents.

“The average commission that goes to the agent is 40 per cent,” he said, adding that the agents also have a mandate to facilitate payments of insurance premiums and utility bills on behalf of Web Tribe.

READ: How young entrepreneur turned a dream into lucrative e-payment firm

The payments for parking fees through the JamboPay system has faced a number of glitches since its launch in August, including service outage, motorists’ ignorance regarding use of the automated process and inadequate distribution networks to back up the virtual money top-ups.

The system allows anyone to register and open an electronic account using their phone or computer.

By keying in the car registration number, the attendants are able to check if a motorist has paid for parking. Users with Android operating systems on their phones can also download the Nairobi County application.

The system also allows motorists to pay for seasonal tickets of 30 days, quarterly or annual.

City Hall charges a daily parking fee of Sh300 within the CBD and Sh200 outside the city centre.

The county government is betting on the platform to curb revenue leakages common under the previous issuance of printed parking tickets.

Nairobi targets to collect Sh5 billion this year from motorists. The parking fee is one of the biggest revenue earners for the county besides land rates.

Eventually, all other county services like payment for business licenses, market fees and development permits are expected to go cashless.