The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) through its fully owned financial technologies firm Integrated Payment Services Ltd (IPSL) on Friday 9th June launched PesaLink, a bank-to-bank money transfer platform, after a four-month pilot phase.
The flagship product for IPSL was officially unveiled by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, Henry Rotich among other players in the local financial services sector. IPSL service subscribers’ will enjoy free access and tariff free services on the platform for the next two months to further encourage the product uptake.
KBA CEO Habil Olaka said PesaLink has enjoyed a steady growth in customer deposits, signed 26 banks onto the platform and processed more than Ksh2.5 billion worth of transactions. “Since we set up, IPSL, to address the challenge of integrating retail payments in the country, we have witnessed the need to offer solution-based products to the market,” said Mr Olaka.
PesaLink, which allows instant inter-bank transactions, is one of the many breakthroughs the financial sector has offered to the market. According to KBA and its members, PesaLink seeks to provide a secure, fast and efficient money transfer system by tapping into the latest technological advances.
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The platform aims to speed up bank-to-bank money transfer transactions of between Ksh10 and Kshs999,999 across five platforms – mobile (USSD & Apps), internet banking, ATM, branch front office, agency banking and POS branches.
“With mobile penetration in Kenya standing at 90% as at December 2016, the prospects of financial penetration are on the rise. Opportunities abound. PesaLink is a step towards the country’s ambition to be a cash lite economy especially with our offering of a real-time interbank transaction framework,” said Jenifer Theuri, IPSL CEO.
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Founded under the Central Bank of Kenya’s National Payment System (NPS) guidelines, IPSL provides a platform aimed at harnessing the potential of digital payment solutions for the local market. The platform has been developed to provide interoperability and related technology solutions for local commercial banks. IPSL will also inform policy direction and manage the risks associated with payment systems in the market, while providing technical and related guidance to KBA member banks.
“We foresee the platform enabling money transfers of multiple currencies, we shall venture into online services, reach out to the unbanked through changing from cash to code, facilitate B2P transactions and even venture into partnerships with the government and other financial institutions apart from banks,” she said.
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