How Kenya’s Digital Payments Evolution and Mobile-Led Transformation Are Showing the Way

In an earlier article, “Kenya’s Payments Evolution: What Banks and Fintechs Can Learn from M‑Pesa and Mobile Operators,” we explored how Kenya, often referred to as the “Silicon Savannah,” was emerging as a global leader in mobile-money innovation and digital financial inclusion. One of the key takeaways was that banks had an awful lot of work to do to keep pace with more agile mobile money platforms in the payment space.

Building on that foundation, this edition of the Stanchion Payment Solutions “Voices from the Market” series brings you an authoritative local perspective from a key stakeholder shaping the next chapter of Kenya’s payments journey. In this edition, we speak to John Njoroge, Visa’s Country Manager for Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan, on what the shifting payments landscape means for card networks.

Kenya Market Overview

Kenya’s payments evolution is at a fascinating stage where innovation, inclusion, and collaboration are all happening at scale. At the heart of this is a thriving mobile-first ecosystem anchored by the mobile money platform M-Pesa, which has transformed financial participation for over 80% of Kenyan adults.

What began as a simple money transfer service has now grabbed significant market share from established banks through its digital platform, enabling everything from savings and lending to merchant payments and cross-border remittances. M-Pesa is showing traditional financial institutions that it’s not about size, it’s about speed.

Banks have responded by making their attempts to reshape the customer experience. These traditional institutions are investing in digital transformation, virtual card issuance, tokenisation, and contactless payment solutions to stay competitive against hungry and agile mobile operators.

This digital play is important in Kenya because prepaid and contactless cards are emerging as the next frontier in consumer payments, projected to grow at nearly 19% CAGR through 2028. The rise of prepaid products reflects growing clamour by digital-first Kenyans for financial control, instant access, and safer online experiences.

This surge of digital growth confirms Kenya’s significance in the digital payments revolution in Africa. The country has earned the nickname “Silicon Savannah” because it now boasts the highest fintech investment levels across this vast continent.

Who better to comment on the payments landscape in this East African gem than global card network company Visa, a trusted payments partner deeply embedded in Kenya’s digital journey?

Local Voice: Visa Perspective

Visa has been central to Kenya’s journey toward a secure, mobile-first economy. For more than a decade, it has worked tirelessly alongside banks, fintechs, and mobile operators to strengthen the trust, reach, and interoperability that define Kenya’s fast-evolving payments ecosystem.

According to John Njoroge, the mobile phone sits firmly at the heart of this transformation: “In Kenya, mobile phones are truly at the heart of daily life. While people may forget their physical wallets, their smartphones are always within reach. That’s why Visa is working closely with banks across the country to enable tokenised digital cards, ensuring that every Kenyan can access secure, convenient payments directly from their mobile devices.”

Through tokenisation, Visa is helping financial institutions digitise card credentials and embed them securely within smartphones and wearables. John adds, “Tokenised digital cards work by replacing sensitive card details with a unique digital identifier, or ‘token,’ which is stored on your mobile device. When you make a payment, this token is used instead of your actual card number, so your real card information is never shared with merchants or exposed during transactions.”

This technology is strengthening consumer confidence by protecting card data, reducing fraud risk, and allowing for effortless payments across mobile wallets and contactless channels.

Visa’s partnerships are reshaping how Kenyans pay. “Tokenised digital cards are transforming payments in Kenya by combining security, convenience, and innovation – making it easier than ever for people to pay with confidence using the devices they rely on most,” says Njoroge.

Visa’s continued collaboration with banks and fintechs shows exactly how local insight and global technology can work hand in tandem to deliver much-needed digital inclusion. In Kenya, this partnership model is enabling a new era of tokenised, mobile-first payments that are secure, seamless, and accessible to everyone.

How Stanchion’s Payment Fabric Can Aid Mobile-First Solutions

John Njoroge’s perspective shines a light on the undeniable truth that tokenised card issuance now sits at the beating heart of Kenya’s payments transformation.

By embedding card credentials directly within mobile devices, the market has taken a massive step toward secure, frictionless, and customer-centric payment experiences. This shift is redefining how payment players deliver scaled-up financial services across this bustling region.

None of this would have been possible without deep collaboration between banks, fintechs, and global technology leaders like Visa. Together, these players are driving the modernisation of legacy systems, expanding access, and enabling millions of Kenyans to transact confidently in an increasingly digital economy.

For Stanchion, this moment exemplifies the purpose of its Payment Fabric, a unifying layer that allows banks and fintechs to integrate tokenised, interoperable, and mobile-first payment solutions seamlessly. Financial institutions using Stanchion’s Payment Fabric have the opportunity to stay competitive while supporting the speed, security, and scalability demanded by today’s digital consumers.

It’s important to note that Kenya’s success is not isolated on a continent that is shifting payment priorities and patterns. Across Africa, mobile-led innovation is speeding up financial inclusion, which could not be done without secure, cloud-based payments that are the envy of any global market. As digital rails continue to expand, Nairobi is seen as an inspiration and a useful model for the continent’s ongoing payments modernisation.

The Bottom Line

Yes, Kenya’s story speaks to a national success, of which everyone should be immensely proud. However, it is also a real-life case study for what it means when buzzwords like innovation, collaboration, and inclusion actually play out in the real world. It is in the markets and on the streets of Kenya that you witness the improvement in the lives of real people as their daily transactions move faster than ever before.

Kenya is a prime example of how connected infrastructure and customer-centric innovation can expand access, build trust, and create value for everyone in the financial ecosystem.

At Stanchion, we care about Kenya’s story not only because we work there, but because it shows what excellence looks like. It also highlights how working together can grow Kenya’s digital economy and how the same could happen throughout the rest of Africa.