Electronic payments firm PesaPal adds options on app

Electronic payments firm PesaPal has added payment options in its integrated mobile money processing platform for shoppers and those making utility payments.

The company said its users will be able to leverage on its new app — dubbed PesaPal Mobile — to buy airtime, pay bills, book flights and holidays, purchase event tickets and pay school fees.

“Available on both Android’s Google Play Store and Apple‘s App Store, the app is geared towards consumers looking to simplify how they manage day- to- day payments all on one free platform,” the firm said.

It has partnered with Safaricom’s #ticker:SCOM M-Pesa, Visa and MasterCard to enable the payments.

Services available on the app include bill payments for utility firms Jamii Telcom (Faiba), DStv, GOtv and Zuku.

“This app goes beyond payments, it taps into the lifestyles of local consumers by giving them access to experiences around food, entertainment and travel,” said PesaPal chief executive, Mark Mwongela, in a statement.

Cashless society

Studies show consumers are shifting payments away from physical cards and cash to mobile phones, leading the way towards a cashless society.

This is against the backdrop of ease of payment, which is driving an online purchase boom in Kenya despite hacking risk concerns, according to a recent UN report.

An e-commerce report released in December by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed that online shoppers in Kenya more than doubled in 2017 compared to three years earlier. The report ranked the country third in e-commerce in Africa behind South Africa and Nigeria.

The UN agency estimates that shoppers who rely on the Internet to buy goods in Kenya hit the 2.61 million mark in 2017 compared with 1.2 million in 2014.