Kenya’s KCB Group (NSE:KCB), the country’s largest bank by assets, is seeking regulatory approval to acquire a stake in local payments fintech Pesapal as it expands digital merchant services across East Africa, TechCabal reported.
Pesapal provides payment acceptance systems for businesses and operates under licences in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zambia.
The investment would connect KCB to Pesapal’s payments infrastructure, which enables businesses to accept card, bank and mobile money payments through both online platforms and physical point-of-sale systems.
Banks across East Africa are moving to secure a stronger position in digital payments as electronic commerce expands rapidly in the region, the world’s most advanced mobile money market with about 372mn registered accounts and roughly 118mn active monthly users. East Africa processed around $488bn in mobile money transactions in 2023, according to the GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money.
KCB said nearly all of its transactions now pass through digital channels, accounting for about 99% of activity, and the bank expects merchant payments to help attract more businesses into its banking network while increasing low-cost deposits.
As bne IntelliNews reported, the proposed Pesapal investment follows KCB’s recent acquisition of fintech firm Riverbank Solutions to strengthen its technology capabilities and expand services for organisations handling large volumes of payments.
Riverbank develops software that helps institutions such as schools, hotels, transport operators and religious organisations manage payments and financial processes. It operates in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda and provides systems linked to agency banking and digital collections.
KCB said integrating Riverbank’s technology with its banking platform would help extend payment and financial management tools to small and medium-sized businesses across the region.
© 2026 bne IntelliNews, source Magazine