According to Tourism CS Rebecca Miano, seamless digital payments are no longer a luxury Craft Silicon Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kamal Budhabhatti, Visa in East Africa Director for CyberSource Solution Peter Brooks and Visa East Africa GM and Vice President Chad Pollock.
/HANDOUT Tourists visiting Kenya can now pay for goods and services directly to mobile money platforms without the need for local sim cards. This is after the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife unveiled TouristTap, which enables visitors to pay like locals by using their card directly from their NFC enabled mobile devices.
Travelers simply download and register on the TouristTap app, choose where to pay by entering the local till, paybill or mobile number, and complete the payment with a simple tap on their phone and secure PIN. Payments are processed instantly, allowing tourists to transact seamlessly at shops, markets, hotels, and attractions without the need for cash or currency exchange.
Speaking at the official launch in Nairobi on Wednesday, Tourism CS Rebecca Miano described the platform as a timely and transformative solution aligned with Kenya’s ambition of building a globally competitive, digitally enabled tourism ecosystem. “I must confess that I am already in love with this product,” she said, underscoring its potential to simplify transactions for both international visitors and local users.
Recounting past inefficiencies, Miano cited missed economic opportunities due to lack of accessible payment systems, including instances where local businesses lost high-value clients because they could not process digital transactions. “This is the gap TouristTap is closing,” she said.
“Every touchpoint of a visitor’s journey will now become smoother, more modern, and user-friendly.” The launch comes as President William Ruto's government accelerates digital transformation across key sectors. According to Miano, seamless digital payments are no longer a luxury but a baseline expectation for modern travelers.