New app links tourists to M-Pesa, Airtel Money

A new mobile payments application, which connects bank cards to local mobile money platforms like M-Pesa and Airtel Money, has been launched, enabling visitors to Kenya to cut reliance on cash or local intermediaries when paying for goods and services.

The app is dubbed TouristTap and has been developed by financial technology firm Craft Silicon. It enables visitors to make payments even to small businesses that typically do not accept foreign currency or card payments through PDQ (Process Data Quickly) machines.