BQ Reporter 
Gituku Kirika, CEO of PesaLink (front left) and Mark Elliott, Division President for Mastercard, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard (front right) sign a Memorandum of Understanding to create innovative, digital-first payment solutions designed to boost the adoption and usage of digital payments and accelerate Kenya’s transition to a cash-lite economy.[Photo/Courtesy]
Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL) which runs the PesaLink payments ecosystem has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to create innovative a digital-first payment solutions.
The solutions are designed to boost the adoption and usage of digital payments and accelerate Kenya’s transition to a cash-lite economy.
Established by the Kenya Bankers Association, the PesaLink ecosystem consists of 31 banks in Kenya enabling more than 9.5 million customers to connect to a secure, fast, efficient, and interoperable payment system.
Under the terms of the MoU,PesaLink will leverage Mastercard’s technology, expertise, partnerships, and cyber intelligence solutions to diversify its payment capability beyond person-to-person payments.
Specifically, Mastercard will collaborate with PesaLink to expand its services to include a direct-to-consumer digital proposition (app, USSD, web, etc.),agent banking and solutions for business and government payments, collections, and disbursements, both face to face and remote, among others.
Mastercard will also provide advisory and technical support to advance PesaLink’s digital-first strategy, in accordance with local and global best practices.
Gituku Kirika,CEO of PesaLink said, “this collaboration with Mastercard is pivotal in providing millions of Kenyans with financial solutions that meet their needs, furthering our goal to accelerate the adoption and usage of digital payments in the country.”
