Kenyans to Use Bank Cards for eCitizen Payments in New Push by MPs
If the Treasury accepts the proposal put forth by Members of Parliament, Kenyans will soon have the option to use debit and credit cards for payments on eCitizen.
In a meeting held on Friday, March 1 in Nakuru County, the National Assembly’s Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations highlighted that the limited scope of the payment model could negatively impact numerous Kenyans, particularly those residing abroad, in terms of their ability to access government services.
At present, payments on eCitizen are conducted using mobile money platforms through the designated pay bill number, 222222.
The committee suggested this after evaluating the provision of services to Kenyan expatriates using the Mobile Consular Service Exercise.
“The Report in part recommends that the National Treasury should resolve the payment limitations on the eCitizen platform regarding the ability to use debit and credit cards so that Kenyans abroad can pay for services on the platform,” the Committee stated in its report.
Even though residing outside their home country, Kenyan expatriates frequently pursue a range of services, such as passport renewal, obtaining identity cards, and securing marriage certificates, among other essential needs.
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Since the government has incorporated the payment of school fees into the eCitizen platform, it will now be more convenient for Kenyan expatriates to effortlessly settle their families’ educational expenses.
In the past few months, the government has been incorporating a range of services onto the eCitizen platform, by a directive from President William Ruto.
Ruto states that the introduction of onboarding services on the platform will boost accountability, as the collection of funds is now centralized.
“The cash payments system is slippery and often an avenue for graft. Technology will help us eliminate this,” Ruto stated after the Nairobi High Court suspended the payment of fees on the platform.
In December, Ruto disclosed that the platform had facilitated transactions for 11 million Kenyans, leading to the government collecting around Ksh 900 million within a few days.
Kenyans to Use Bank Cards for eCitizen Payments in New Push by MPs