Expanding digital payments in East Africa

East Africa shows significant potential for the growth of the digital economy, driven by increasing investments in technology and ambitious national visions. At Mastercard, we are committed to harnessing the power of partnerships with key local and regional ecosystem players to unlock new opportunities for individuals and businesses in this space.

We are working to expand the variety of innovative and accessible payment solutions available to people across the region. In this context, we have entered a long-term strategic collaboration with KCB Bank Kenya that will offer an enhanced value proposition to cardholders in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda with the aim of driving financial inclusion.

Together, we will launch Mastercard World and World Elite cards, youth pre-paid and corporate cards that will bring a wide range of new payment experiences to the bank’s customers. These include e-commerce payments, cross-border remittances, QR payments and Tap on Phone transactions.

Our alliance will go a long way in building trust in digital payments, facilitating financial access, connecting consumers to priceless experiences and empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to derive added value from their interaction with the bank.

The market-forward collaboration with consumers’ needs at its heart will enable us to achieve our shared ambition to accelerate payment innovation in East Africa. It will leverage our complementary strengths to provide a best-in-class offering to KCB Bank’s cardholders, delivering a simplified core product proposition and optimized digital experience.  

Our partnership will pave the way for an evolved and transparent payment ecosystem across the region, scaling simple and locally relevant digital solutions for the benefit of consumers and MSMEs. Together, we are building an innovative, inclusive and sustainable future of payments, grounded in our common goal of uplifting the communities we serve.