A New Chapter:Electronic Payment System for Cash Transfers now in Place

All government Cash Transfer Programmes' payments in Kenya are now made electronically opening a new chapter in the history of Cash Transfer payments in the country.

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) team demonstrate the use of the two-factor authentication system to His Excellency
President Uhuru Kenyatta at the official launch of the biometric system in KICC,earlier this year. 

The electronic payment system which uses two factor authentication became effective from June 2015 and is delivered by two regulated banks, namely Equity and Kenya Commercial Bank.

Besides delivering services through the normal banking facilities, the partnering banks also work with their recruited agents to deliver services across the country, providing flexibility and broader options in terms of access to banking services by beneficiaries. Notably, this factor has also promoted financial inclusion among the vulnerable groups.

The electronic payment system comes with several advantages for both the government and the beneficiaries as follows:
For beneficiaries, it is secure, faster and cost effective.
For the Government, It has made authentication process easier, allows tracking of transactions to confirm for instance whether the right amount of money was paid to the right recipient. It has also made reconciliation process easier compared to the previously used manual system and is also both an instrument forenhancing governance (accountability & transparency).

The implementation of the electronic payment system marks a significant achievement to the NSNP implementers, given that it is one of the DLRs of the programme.