Over the past few years, Kenya has entrenched itself as the global hub of digital financial solutions. This position has become more manifest since the 2020 pandemic when people switched from using cash to do their transactions to making transactions and payments through digital financial solutions.
“Kenya is one of the most advanced countries with digital financial inclusion. Our digital financial capabilities are some of the most advanced globally,” says Jackson Mwenda, a Nairobi-based cyber security expert who specialises in digital payments.
According to Mwenda, contactless payments are one of the most game-changing digital finance innovations, allowing users to tap to pay for goods and services. Incidentally, contactless payments were introduced in Kenya in August 2020 by Visa. “The introduction of Visa’s has been a boon for the growing base of consumers looking for safer payment solutions both physically and technologically,” says Mwenda.
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Although the majority of digital payment solutions come with transaction fees, users are not charged anything for paying using their Visa contactless solution. “Paying with a Visa is free. There are no transaction charges or hidden fees when you pay using your Visa,” says Visa in a statement to Bizna Kenya. “This means that you can enjoy Zero charges when you pay with your Visa card for your online groceries shopping, every time you fuel, whenever you tap to pay at your favourite supermarket, restaurant or in your travels.”
These zero charges have come in handy for many Kenyans who are tightening their belts and looking for ways to stretch their shilling every day. Take Louisa Adhiambo. The mother of two who works as an Advocate in Nairobi had been using a mobile and bank solution that deducted money from her mobile and bank account every time she made a transaction. “Whenever I went shopping, I’d have to budget for some transaction charges for money to move from my bank account to my mobile account and finally to the seller’s account,” she says.
Adhiambo adds that these charges cancelled out any discounts she would save on her purchases. “One month ago, though, she made the switch to contactless payments using Visa. “I had been spending as high as Sh. 1,000 on transaction charges on different transactions. But now I don’t have to budget for charges. Shopping discounts are now reflected visibly in my household budget,” she says.
But it is not just the comfort of zero charges that is driving many Kenyans to Visa contactless payments. It is the safety and the comfort of knowing that transactions are secure. “I made the switch to Visa contactless payment because I value the secureness of my financial transactions,” says Elijah Kimani. “We have been hearing about multiple scams and frauds on digital payments but none of these has been from this new method of making payments.”
For other users, the main point of attraction has been the convenience and speed within which transactions using Visa’s contactless payments are completed. This is echoed by Visa. “For consumers, contactless payments offer an easy, fast and secure experience, especially as smartphones and even smarter contactless enabled wearable devices are now commonplace,” says Visa. “For merchants, tap-to-pay technology speeds up queuing times and reduces the burden of handling cash.”
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Contactless payments use short-range wireless technology to securely complete payments between a contactless card or payment-enabled device and a contactless-enabled checkout terminal. “A contactless Visa card is a chip card that has a near-field communication (NFC) antenna which enables close-range payments,” says Mwenda. “When you tap your contactless Visa card or payment-enabled device at the contactless-enabled checkout terminal your payment is sent for authorisation.”
In addition to the advantages of speed and ease, contactless payments are safe because they use protocols similar to encoding (replacing sensitive and private information such as the 16-digit account numbers with a unique digital identifier called the code). According to Visa, the EMV chip generates a one-time encryption code, and thus prevents fraud and counterfeiting attempts.
Quick takeaway: Making payments
- When making payments from a terminal, you will need to first look for the Contactless Indicator on your card to know if your card has the technology to make contactless payments. In addition, your card or device must be within 2.5-5 cm of the Contactless Symbol on the terminal.
