Kenya’s Buses Go Contactless With Google’s BebaPay Platform

Equity Bank and Google have come together to present the new BebaPay card and application for bus commuters in Kenya.

The public bus, or as Kenyans call it, the ‘matatu’, is the first contactless payments system for transportation in the country, reports a press release from Equity Bank.

BepaPay is trying to bridge the gap between customers and the inconvenience of paying cash for bus travel by introducing a Google-powered product that uses NFC technology. All BepaPay cardholders need to do is tap the card onto the reader to pay for their journey.

Customers can also receive free SMS receipts on their mobile phones after paying for travel, or they can log in to the BepaPay website to see transactions or plan future trips. This feature can ideally help users manage finances easier and gives an alternative for the customers who complained about collecting an overabundance of paper receipts.

“The BebaPay card is a first for Kenya and will change the transport industry when it comes to payment,” Dr. James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank, told TechMoran. “It is a convenient local payment solution that makes it easy to budget and manage one’s expenses on a mobile phone or computer”.

Prior to the NFC technology, there were some complaints that conductors would often forget to give back change to consumers. The payment transaction is easier for both the consumer and the merchant, and in this case the bus operators, as BepaPay eliminates the hassle of repaying change, and it also saves time.

Bus conductors in Kenya can even use NFC-supporting Android phones to accept payments from BebaPay contactless cards.

Joe Mucheru, country manager at Google Kenya said to TechMoran, “Research showed that technology could help bus operators and passengers to ease the process of ticketing, so we’re pleased that Nairobi commuters can now enjoy the advantages of BebaPay.”

People living in Nairobi can register for a BepaPay card from the Kencom house located in the city’s shopping center. They can also top up at any Equity Bank Agent across the country or use their mobile money option on the application to top up the card. More merchants are expected to sign up as the service spreads.

Equity Bank has future plans to roll out the services into other surrounding places outside of Nairobi as well as integrate the payments system into other businesses beyond transportation.

“Our vision of a cashless economy is one of our strategic focus and is achievable through collaborations with other industry leaders who share this vision such as Google,” Mwagni said.

To read the press release from Equity Bank Group click here, or to read the story at TechMoran click here.