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MasterCard, a leading global payments and technology company, has made commitment to empower more than 150,000 Kenyan Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by providing them with access to Masterpass Quick Response (QR) digital payment solution. In a statement released on Tuesday, the company said its simple and secure payment solution will improve financial inclusion for Kenyan merchants.

The mobile-driven, Person-to-Merchant payment solution will be introduced through various financial institutions and other partners in the market from February.

"Kenyans are entrepreneurial by nature, and there are incredibly exciting business ideas coming from the region," said Daniel Monehin, Head of Financial Inclusion for International Markets at MasterCard. "We want to help these business owners to grow and prosper by delivering solutions that meet the needs of these business owners.”

In September, 2016, MasterCard partnered with Ecobank to roll out Masterpass QR in Nigeria. The global objective of MasterCard is to synchronise 40 million micro and small merchants to its electronic payment system by the end of 2020. The initiative is part of the company’s Universal Financial Access 2020 commitment made in 2015.

Challenges faced by MSMEs in Kenya range from the high costs of installing payment equipment like point-of-sale (POS) devices, payment security, and worries attributed to the movement of large sums of cash. The Masterpass QR handles these problems in an easy user-friendly manner, by digitizing the payment sector hitherto reliant on cash-based transactions, the global payment giant said.

According to Kenya’s Micro and Small Enterprises Authority, it is important that obtainable solutions foster efficient operations in Kenyan MSMEs sector, which accounts for 80% of the country’s employment.

"Kenya is leading the charge in financial inclusion, with the World Bank reporting that 75% of its citizens over the age of 15 having a bank account. Masterpass QR has the potential to drive that number up further and more rapidly due to the penetration of mobile devices in the market. Technology is playing an important role to ensuring all citizens have access to solutions that help move them beyond cash," added Monehin, who is also Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa at MasterCard.

Masterpass QR is currently being rolled out in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania and is set to launch in destinations across Africa. Subscribers can use the payment solution for in-store transactions and on their mobile devices at any location in the continent where the Masterpass QR is accepted.