Kenswitch Launches Domestic Card Network for Kenyan Financial Institutions

Kenswitch has launched a domestic card scheme aimed at giving Kenyan banks and other financial institutions a local network for issuing and accepting physical and virtual cards.

Unveiled at an event held on Tuesday, the Kenswitch Card expands the company’s activities beyond payment switching into card issuance and acceptance. Kenswitch is described as Kenya’s largest independent payments switch.

The company said the scheme will operate across its network of more than 2,200 automated teller machines, 50,000 point-of-sale terminals and 80,000 agent outlets. Kenswitch has not identified the financial institutions that will issue the cards or stated when consumers will begin receiving them.

Digital card issuance demonstrated

Kenswitch demonstrated a digital card issuance platform developed with TAI FINTECH and Stanchion Payments. In the demonstration, a customer opened an account digitally and received a virtual card almost immediately.

The virtual card could be frozen and unfrozen, generate dynamic security codes and authenticate online purchases through app notifications or email, according to Kenswitch and its partners.

Kenswitch also said it is considering partnerships with technology companies and mobile device manufacturers that could allow virtual cards to be added to compatible smartphones for contactless Tap to Pay transactions.

“Through partnerships such as this, Kenswitch is positioning the local payments ecosystem to participate in the future of tokenised and digital payments while continuing to develop solutions that are relevant to Kenyan financial institutions and consumers,” Kenswitch chief executive officer John Mukono said.

Mukono added: “We are looking beyond the card itself to how consumers will use payment credentials in the future.”

Launch comes amid mobile-money dominance

The new network enters a market where Visa and Mastercard are already established in Kenya’s banking system. Kenyan banks issue cards from both international networks, while mobile money remains the dominant form of everyday digital payments.

Central Bank of Kenya figures show that the country had 11.16 million debit cards, 2.26 million prepaid cards and 340,852 credit cards in July 2026. Card spending through prepaid, credit and debit cards totalled KES 38.04 billion ($293.6 million) that month, including point-of-sale payments.

By comparison, Kenya had 94.4 million registered mobile money accounts and 575,400 active mobile money agents in July. Those agents handled KES 728.7 billion ($5.6 billion) in cash-in and cash-out transactions during the month.

Smartphone adoption and virtual card services are also growing. The Communications Authority of Kenya reported that smartphones represented 63.7% of the country’s 78.7 million connected mobile phones in March 2026, while smartphone penetration stood at 92.9% in December 2025.

Safaricom said its M-PESA GlobalPay virtual Visa card had 316,500 active users by March 2026. The service processed 8.5 million transactions worth about KES 12 billion ($92.7 million) during the financial year, an increase of 38% from the previous year.

Partnership with Visa

The Kenswitch Card launch follows a partnership announced by Kenswitch and Visa in April. The companies said they would explore payment solutions, merchant acceptance, payment processing, settlement and emerging payment technologies in Kenya.

Kenswitch’s domestic scheme follows Nigeria’s AfriGo, a national card network launched in 2023 through the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System. NIBSS managing director and chief executive Premier Oiwoh said in September that AfriGo had issued more than one million cards and processed transactions valued at about ₦70 billion ($52.8 million).

Domestic card networks can keep more of the infrastructure and economics of local card payments within their respective countries. Kenswitch has not disclosed how its pricing will compare with Visa, Mastercard or other card networks.