Why M-Pesa Payments Will Not Be Allowed For Nairobi Expressway Use

Moja Expressway, the company running the Nairobi Expressway, will not allow toll payments through mobile money, at least for now.

According to media reports, in its initial stages of operations, Moja Expressway will only accept cash payments and electronic cards.

“No M-Pesa payment at the moment. It is still in consideration. It will be there in the future,” a spokesperson of Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation, which built the road, told a local daily.

According to the company, the use of mobile money, in which M-Pesa is dominant, will result in traffic congestion at tolling points.

The service providers (Moja Expressway) have already launched tolling cards for the Expressway, which will cost Ksh300 for the manual tolling card. To register, one will be required to have a national identity card (ID) and at least Ksh1,000 must be loaded in points.

For the electronic tolling card, one will be required to have a national ID, the logbook of the vehicle being registered and Ksh1,000 installation service charge and a minimum of Ksh2,000 to be loaded onto the card.

Motorists will pay between Ksh120 and Ksh1,800 to use the road, depending on the size of the vehicle and the distance traveled.

The Ksh88 Billion Nairobi Expressway is set to be officially opened on May 14, 2022 with already 10,000 motorists having been registered to use it.

The expressway will have 11 interchanges and 27 toll stations. To access the road, one must first sign up at the Nairobi Expressway Service Centre on Mombasa Road opposite General Motors.

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