ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the importance of mobile payments in Kenya’s national payments system. It outlines the evolution of mobile payment systems from their beginnings to contemporary times. Central to this chapter is a discussion on how the financial inclusion agenda by Kenyan governments was achieved inadvertently with the success of M-Pesa, since it acted as a key component in stimulating wealth among the people. The chapter will also seek to establish how generating an enabling environment is imperative for mobile systems to thrive. In advancing this argument, the chapter also discusses factors that contributed to the success of M-Pesa in Kenya key, amongst them being the dominance of Safaricom (a mobile network operator), increase in the use of mobile phones and having an enabling regulatory environment. It argues that an enabling environment accomplishes inclusivity by allowing innovative technologies to develop and creating a platform for the emergence of alternative retail payments instruments, such as electronic money, mobile payments and internet payment systems – augmenting the number of financial products in service for a budding market.
