The usage of debit cards for making payments has declined in Kenya despite of more number using cards, according to new figures from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
According to CBK, the value of debit card transactions per month was down to $1.15bn in October 2013 from $1.6bn in February 2013.
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The decline in the usage of debit card is mainly due to people using online methods to making purchases.
Economic lecturer Henry Wandera was quoted by Standard Digital as saying that mobile money has taken over cashless transactions making it hard for any other system to thrive.
"It has become part and parcel of Kenyans’ lives that people cannot think of debit or credit cards. This is because it is immediate and convenient," he added.
Additionally, more service providers are enhancing the mobile money options, including the recently launched Lipan a M-Pesa, a service launched by Safaricom that allows people to use its mobile money platform to buy goods and services at reduced rates.
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By GlobalDataSafaricom CEO Bob Collymore told the website that the platform will mainstream M-Pesa to be a business payment solution.
