An artist works on a mural advocating for retail M-Pesa mobile phone cashless payments as a measure against the spread of the coronavirus disease in Nairobi, Kenya, April 19. — Reuters
Africa’s burgeoning mobile-banking industry has gained fresh momentum with governments boosting payments through phones, a measure aimed at curbing the coronavirus by reducing the physical exchange of cash.
Kenya is ramping up its use of technology platforms offered by Vodafone Group Plc’s M-Pesa, Airtel Kenya Ltd and Telkom Kenya Ltd since the pandemic to disburse aid directly to businesses and individuals using mobile money rather than through banks or food parcels. Ghana on June 24 also started pumping stimulus to at least 100,000 micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises using mobile money.
