Craft Silicon, a global fintech company specialising in banking and payment solutions, with its primary headquarters located in Nairobi, Kenya, has launched a new cashless payment platform designed to digitise tourism transactions across Kenya and East Africa’s tourism sector, from airports and hotels to national parks and informal service providers including local markets, kiosks, and transport operators.
The initiative supports Kenya’s wider digital transformation agenda, which prioritises the integration of technology into key economic sectors.
The platform addresses a long - standing challenge in East African tourism, where fragmented payment systems and cash dependency have inconvenienced and limited revenue tracking.
Developed by Craft Silicon in partnership with KCB Bank, and Visa to digitize the tourism value chain, TouristTap allows visitors to use NFC-– enabled phones as POS terminals by entering local till numbers or mobile payment details and completing transactions with a secure PIN, enabling secure, contactless payments to local merchants, guides, and small machine terminals KCB Bank and Visa and eliminating the need for cash or physical card machines.
The integration of TouristTap across both formal and informal service providers is expected to advance financial inclusion by bringing small - scale operators into the digital economy, particularly significant in tourism - dependent regions where many businesses operate outside formal banking systems.
Key Features of TouristTap:
· NFC Tap - to Pay Technology: Tourist can tap their contactless debit/credit cards directly onto NFC – enabled Android phone to pay for goods and services instantly.
· Mobile POS Functionality: Transforms mobile phones into POS machines, enabling merchants to accept payments without physical terminals.
· Direct Mobile Money Integration: Facilitates immediate transfers from International cards to local merchants M – Pesa wallets, till numbers, or pay bills.
· High – Level Security (PCI - DSS): Features PCI – DDS certified technology, ensuring that card details are encrypted, and never stored or shared.
· Comprehensive Tourism Coverage: Suitable for hotels, transport providers, parks, and small, informal businesses like craft sellers.
· Fast Registration and Usage: Designed for quick setup (under three seconds registration) and instant payment processing.
· Offline to Online Integration: Supports the formalization of informal tourism players by providing access to digital payment systems.
The platform aims to reduce reliance on cash, enhance security, and increase financial inclusion within Kenya’s tourism sector.
Visa’s East Africa General Manager Chad Pollock highlighted the role of seamless payment infrastructure in shaping visitor experiences and unlocking tourism growth, while KCB Bank representative Johnson Ondicho noted the platform’s alignment with broader digital payments expansion efforts.
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