Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has rolled out a new standard for Quick Response (QR) codes, named the Kenya Quick Response Code Standard 2023 (KE-QR). This new standard is modeled after Ghana’s Universal GHQR.
The KE-QR standard will serve as a guide for Payment Service Providers and banks regulated by the CBK to issue QR codes for businesses and customers accepting digital payments.
The CBK hopes that implementation of a standardized QR Code system will promote inclusion and facilitate innovation among Payment Service Providers and banks, leading to better services for customers.
The introduction of the QR Standard represents an essential step in the execution of Kenya’s National Payments Strategy 2022–2025 and will bring the country’s National Payment System into compliance with international best practices. At certain points of sale, customers can initiate and accept digital payments using machine-readable codes called QR codes.
Customers can easily and securely make digital payments using QR codes, instead of manually inputting different payment codes and numbers. The Kenyan regulatory body is of the opinion that the use of standardized QR Codes will speed up the introduction of new products and increase the advantages that customers who use mobile money networks and multiple institutions to make payments receive.
The KE-QR Code Standard 2023 was created in cooperation with CBK, banks, payment service providers, card schemes, and others and is based on the EMVCo QR Code Specification. As players align their operations to the Standard’s requirements and raise customer awareness, the Standard will be implemented gradually.
