Kenswitch Launches Domestic Card Scheme for Kenya Banks

In Short

• Kenswitch has entered Kenya’s card market with a domestic card scheme.
• The new Kenswitch Card supports both physical cards and virtual cards.
• The move expands Kenswitch beyond payments switching into card issuance and acceptance.

What Happened

Kenswitch launched a domestic card scheme in Kenya that lets banks and other financial institutions issue cards on its network. Kenswitch is best known as a payments switch, which means it routes transactions between financial institutions, similar to how a traffic controller routes cars.

The company unveiled the Kenswitch Card at Strathmore University. It said the launch included a digital card issuance system built with TAI Fintech, a university-affiliated venture, and Stanchion Payments, a global payments technology company.

With the scheme in place, participating institutions can issue both physical cards and virtual cards. A virtual card is a card number generated digitally for online payments, similar to using a temporary card in an app.

Kenswitch is entering a market where Visa and Mastercard are already widely used by Kenyan banks. This matters because it sets up a local alternative for domestic card payments, where transactions stay within the country’s card network rules and infrastructure.

Why It Matters

Kenya’s retail payments are heavily shaped by mobile money, including M-PESA. But cards still matter for ecommerce, travel, and higher value purchases, and for customers who want a separate payment method from a mobile wallet.

For banks and fintechs, a domestic card scheme can mean more choice on pricing, settlement arrangements, and product design. Settlement is how money is finally moved between banks after a card payment.

For Kenswitch, the launch is a business expansion. Switching is a lower margin utility layer for routing payments, while card issuance and acceptance can add new revenue lines through network fees and services to issuing banks and merchants.

The next test will be adoption. Kenswitch will need enough issuers, merchants, and payment acceptance points to make the scheme useful, especially in a country where international card brands are deeply integrated into bank card programmes.