Paystack, the leading online payment platform in Africa, has officially launched its services in Kenya after being in private beta for the past 10 months. This means that Kenyan businesses can now accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world, using Paystack’s easy-to-use and secure platform.
Paystack was founded in 2015 in Nigeria, with the vision of transforming how Africans pay and get paid online. Since then, it has grown to power over 60,000 businesses across Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, processing billions of dollars in transactions every year. Paystack was also acquired by Stripe, the global leader in online payments, in 2020, making it the most valuable startup exit in Africa’s history.
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Paystack’s expansion to Kenya is a significant milestone for the company and the African fintech ecosystem. Kenya is one of the most dynamic and innovative markets in Africa, with a vibrant tech community and a high level of digital and financial inclusion. According to the Central Bank of Kenya, mobile money transactions reached a record high of Ksh 5.2 trillion ($47.5 billion) in 2020, up from Ksh 4.3 trillion ($39.3 billion) in 2019.
Paystack aims to tap into this huge potential and offer Kenyan businesses a better way to accept payments online. With Paystack, businesses can create custom payment pages, embed payment forms on their websites, send invoices and payment requests via email or SMS, and integrate with popular tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, and more. Paystack also supports multiple payment methods, including mobile money, cards, bank transfers, USSD, and QR codes.
“We’re excited to bring Paystack to Kenya, and we can’t wait to see how Kenyan businesses will use our platform to grow their revenue and reach new customers. We’ve been testing our product with a select group of beta merchants in Kenya for the last six months, and we’ve been blown away by their feedback and enthusiasm. We’re confident that Paystack will be a game-changer for Kenyan businesses, and we look forward to supporting them as they scale.”
Paystack’s co-founder and CEO, Shola Akinlade
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What Can You Do with Paystack?
Some of the benefits of using Paystack in Kenya are:
- You can receive online payments from various channels, such as Cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), M-PESA, and Apple Pay
- You can choose to get paid in KES or USD, and have the money deposited into your bank account or M-PESA wallet. You can also use the Split Payment feature to automatically distribute one payment among multiple accounts or wallets
- You can integrate Paystack with many e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Zoho, Wix, and more. You can find the full list on the Paystack Integrations Directory
- You can easily send money to M-PESA wallets. This is useful for paying salaries, vendors, or customers. For example, some fintechs use this feature to disburse funds to customers who request their savings
- You can collect recurring payments and manage subscriptions automatically
- You can handle transaction disputes, such as refunds and chargebacks, from the Paystack Dashboard
- You can track your business performance in real-time with the Paystack Dashboard and Mobile App. This helps you with accounting, reconciliation, and audits
- You can set custom user permissions to give different team members access to specific parts of your transaction data
- You can enjoy automated fraud detection and security features, such as Two Factor Authentication (2FA) and IP whitelisting, which protect your business and your customers
If you’re a Kenyan business owner or developer who wants to start accepting payments online with Paystack, you can sign up for free at https://paystack.com/ke. You can also join Paystack’s launch event on September 13th at 11 am EAT, where you’ll learn more about Paystack’s features, pricing, and integration options. You can register for the event here.
Paystack comes to fill in a gap that’s unfortunately present where popular global platforms like PayPal aren’t exactly paying attention to the local needs of customers. For instance, PayPal is still not available in Nigeria, a bustling market in Africa. PayPal’s customer service is also virtually non-existent in Africa.
Here’s to hoping Paystack and really does come through and revolutionize e-commerce in Kenya and in Africa.