KCB Group PLC has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Pesapal, a fintech company runs payment processing for online and point‑of‑sale transactions used by thousands of businesses across the region, in a deal that was announced on 31 October 2025 and is awaiting Central Bank of Kenya approval.
- •It follows KCB’s acquisition of 75% of Riverbank Solutions in March 2025 for about KSh 2 billion, which brought core digital payments infrastructure into the group.
- •Instead of relying only on bank‑led channels, the group is positioning itself at merchant touchpoints where daily transactions occur, aiming to grow fee income, strengthen SME relationships, and use real‑time transaction data to support short‑cycle working capital lending.
- •Pesapal, founded in Nairobi in 2009, is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya as a Payment Service Provider since April 2022, with similar approvals in Uganda and Tanzania.
The Asset
Pesapal built an online payments gateway that links mobile money and card networks, then rolled out Pesapal Sabi smart POS devices for in‑store acceptance of M‑Pesa, Airtel Money, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
The firm also operates TicketSasa for events and travel ticketing and ReservePort for hotel booking and payment automation.
Newer products include OpenFloat for business expense management and Pesapal Credit, which extends short‑tenor working capital to SMEs using transaction histories. Its operations span Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Fit in KCB’s Expansion Strategy
The investment adds a merchant‑facing layer to KCB’s recent digital push. Riverbank Solutions powers agency banking and digital revenue platforms inside the group; Pesapal brings a scaled acceptance network at the point of payment. Together they create a fuller stack across collection, settlement, analytics, and credit to SMEs.
KCB’s recent transactions provide context:
- •In 2019, KCB acquired National Bank of Kenya via a share swap valuing NBK at about KSh 6 billion; KCB exited in 2024 through a sale to Access Bank.
- •In 2021–2022, KCB acquired a 62% stake in Banque Populaire du Rwanda and merged it with KCB Rwanda to hold roughly 77% of the combined lender.
- •On 1 December 2022, KCB completed the purchase of 85% of Trust Merchant Bank in the DRC.
- •In March 2025, KCB bought 75% of Riverbank Solutions for about KSh 2 billion.
The Pesapal stake, disclosed on 31 October 2025 with terms undisclosed, extends this shift toward a platform model with growth anchored on digital fees, merchant acquiring, and data‑linked lending.
No stake size or valuation for Pesapal has been disclosed. Closing will depend on regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya, and any other required consents.
