State to go cashless from July to curb fraud

The Government plans to curb fraud in ministries and State agencies through e-payments that kick-off on July 1. To prevent online fraud, the Government says it will roll out the Cyber Security Master Plan before end of June.

Principal Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology Joseph Tiampati, said the plan is to ensure online transactions are secure. The online payment for government goods and services is expected to reduce corruption and improve efficiency. “There is already, in place, the cyber crime response centre within the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK) and this is part of the government’s strategy to fight cyber-crime in the country,” said Tiampati.

Reliable to use
Speaking during the launch of money transfer platform MobiKash in Nairobi yesterday, Tiampati said: “The Government is doing this to ensure that when you make your transactions, they are secure.” MobiKash Africa will partner with Foundation Enterprise Development (Fep), which has a controlling stake in the firm. MobiKash Africa CEO  Duncan Oduor Otieno, said the platform is secure and reliable to use across the market segments.

The new platform seeks to reach the more than 25 million Kenyan mobile subscribers of the fast growing mobile service market segment, and register more than 100,000 merchants by end of this year.

Under the Lipa Pesa na MobiKash, customers will pay a standard fee of Sh15 for any amount of goods purchased from the merchant. Central Bank of Kenya figures estimate that Sh1.3 trillion was transacted by Kenyans on their mobile phones in 2013, an average of Sh5.2 billion a month. The platform allows users to deposit and withdraw money.