The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced remarkable progress in developing a financial sector-wide interoperable solution, with the aim of revolutionizing instant payment transfers across the country’s entire financial industry. This initiative, known as the Fast-Payment System (FPS), is a crucial step in the country’s journey to enhance its digital payment infrastructure.
A CBK-Industry Technical Working Group has been formed to design, launch, and roll out the FPS. This development follows consultations between the CBK, Kenya Bankers Association, various Payment Service Providers, and banks since February 2024.
The FPS will integrate payment services offered by different financial institutions, enabling customers to send and receive money instantly, regardless of their institution. This move conforms to the Central Bank of Kenya Act’s mandate to promote efficient and effective payment systems.
Kenya’s push for enhanced interoperability dates back to 2014, when East African Community Partner State Central Banks agreed on the need to integrate regional card and mobile money systems. Subsequent milestones included the launch of person-to-person (P2P) interoperability in 2018 and merchant interoperability in 2022.
However, existing interoperability solutions face many challenges. The lack of a centralized switching mechanism, reliance on costly bilateral arrangements, and closed systems have hindered full participation in an open and integrated payment ecosystem. These issues have led to increased costs for customers and affected Kenya’s global standing in payments innovation and financial inclusion.
The new FPS will hopefully address these challenges by creating an open and fully interoperable Digital Public Infrastructure. This system will mitigate the risk of duplication and reduce reliance on fragmented domestic and international payment systems.
Upon successful implementation, Kenya will join 57 other countries with operational Fast-Payment systems, as reported in the 2023 World Bank Global Payment Systems Survey. The FPS fits with the vision outlined in Kenya’s National Payments Strategy 2022-2025, which would cement the country’s position as a leader in financial technology innovation.
The CBK, in collaboration with the Technical Working Group, will provide updates on the FPS launch timeline. This development is expected to have huge implications for Kenya’s financial landscape, potentially streamlining transactions, reducing costs, and improving financial inclusion across the country.
