Kenya is seeking to adopt India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in a move that would revolutionize the country’s digital payments space. 

Officials of National Payments Corporation of India say discussions are underway with the Central Bank of Kenya to explore collaboration on how establish the system, which has radically improved financial inclusion, remittance facilitation and payments efficiency in India.

“We are doing an extensive study and already engaging the CBK in Kenya in terms of gathering the ecosystem inputs in terms of interoperability,” they said in New Delhi, adding that they have are rolling out the UPI in Namibia.

The talks revolve around building the platform and the digital infrastructure, after which the system will be tailor-made based on the country’s financial landscape.

The UPI system powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application of any participating bank, merging several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood. With M-Pesa like features, the UPI enables instant personal and merchant payments, and processes over 80 per cent of the India’s retail digital payments, registering 18.67 billion transactions worth $293 billion in May 2025.

The platform facilitates payments to merchants through a QR code, person-to-person payments, website payments, recurring payments feature phone (USSD) payments and Central Bank Digital currency support.

Kenya also has its own National Payments Strategy (2022-2025) which aims to create an inclusive, collaborative, and efficient payment system. 

In this regard, CBK has been working towards launching a Fast Payment System to enable instant digital payments across all financial institutions in Kenya but is yet to roll out. The system aims to create a unified, inclusive, and affordable digital payments ecosystem by fostering interoperability and real-time transfers between banks, mobile money platforms, and fintech, a perfect fit for UPI.

The entry of UPI in Kenya would greatly disrupt the digital payments space, especially for Safaricom’s M-Pesa.

While M-Pesa has emerged as a global leader in the sector with over 34 million subscribers, ensuring financial inclusion, convenience and accessibility, the high transaction costs for consumers and businesses have been a concern.

UPI, on the other hand, allows businesses to accept payments online with the lowest transaction charges and zero integration charges.