KCB Group’s expansion drive has taken a decisive turn into financial technology, with its latest acquisition of a minority stake in payments firm Pesapal marking a deeper push into digital finance.
With regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the country’s largest lender is set to become a minority shareholder in Pesapal, one of the region’s leading digital payment providers. The move positions KCB to capture a bigger slice of the fast-growing fintech market.
While the exact stake remains undisclosed, the deal highlights KCB’s growing appetite for fintech investments. It follows the bank’s full acquisition of Riverbank Solutions earlier this year—another fintech company offering digital payment and collection tools across East Africa.
According to KCB, the investment “sets the stage for development of innovative payment and other related solutions for Kenya’s small and micro enterprises, enhancing value for shareholders of both Pesapal and KCB.”
So far, KCB stands out as the only major Kenyan bank making such direct moves into fintech ownership, but analysts say this reflects a wider shift in thinking among traditional lenders.
“Banks are definitely seeing that opportunity to get into the fintech space. But unlike banks, we are very nimble. So let the banks come in and figure out how to play in this space,” said Vincent Aberi, East Africa Growth Manager for US and Canada at LemFi, a digital remittance company.
KCB hired former Pesapal CEO Mark Mwongela in June as its first group director of strategy and innovation.
Mr Mwongela's experience with fintechs – having also served as Paypal’s regional director for enterprise sales and business development for Middle East and Africa - is expected to be a key factor in KCB’s expansion in the technology space.
Pesapal is one of 41 payment service providers licensed by the CBK. Its licence allows it to store, send, and process payments on behalf of merchants while facilitating mobile money transactions.
The firm also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, offering a mobile app, online payment platform, and point-of-sale terminals that support card and mobile money transactions.
Riverbank builds digital payment infrastructure, offering services such as agent banking, social payments, revenue collection, and business payment solutions across the region.
Taken together, KCB’s full acquisition of Riverbank and minority stake in Pesapal signal a deliberate shift from traditional commercial banking towards integrated digital finance, and a growing belief in synergy between banks and fintechs.
Across Africa, a similar trend is emerging. Traditional lenders are acquiring or investing in fintechs to diversify their services and stay competitive in the digital era.
Just last week, South Africa’s FirstRand Bank acquired a 20 percent stake in UAE-based Optasia, a digital finance firm offering mobile credit across 38 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Earlier in the year, Nigeria’s BAS Group also announced an undisclosed minority stake in fintech firm Zuvy.
For KCB, the Pesapal deal is expected to deepen its foothold in merchant acquiring and SME payments, building on one of Kenya’s largest agent and merchant networks.
