Ruto Drawn Into Sh26B CBK Tender Deal as Nigerian Firm Lobbies for His Support

State House has been drawn into a high-stakes battle over the development of Kenya’s new Fast Payment System (FPS) and national digital ID programme, as Nigeria’s Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS) and Kenyan payments software provider Ceva Limited intensify their lobbying efforts to secure one of the country’s most lucrative financial projects.

In a letter to President William Ruto, Ceva Limited requested a meeting to present NIBBS as its strategic partner in building Kenya’s new payment infrastructure.

The letter, dated March 2025, sought a meeting with the President on either the 20th or 21st of March to introduce NIBBS and discuss the development of the National Fast Payment System and the National ID Card System (AfriGo).

The proposed meeting was expected to include top executives from NIBBS and Ceva, including NIBSS CEO Premier Oiwoh, Yvonne Ige, its head of partnerships, and Ceva’s Managing Director Yatin Mehta.

David Kiprono, the director of Webmasters Kenya Ltd—the firm behind Kenya’s eCitizen platform—was also expected to attend.

NIBBS, owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and licensed banks, is Nigeria’s national switch and payment infrastructure.

Ceva, founded in 2010, operates in India, Nigeria, Kenya, and Brazil, and claims to process $40 billion in transactions annually.

In its letter, Ceva argued that NIBBS has the credentials and a system that can ensure seamless interoperability across different payment platforms, including banks, SACCOS, mobile money operators like M-Pesa, and fintechs.

“Our robust infrastructure is developed in Africa, for Africa,” Ceva wrote in the letter. “AfriGo is NIBBS’ answer to Africa having its own card processing, driving our economic independence and efficiency. India has done it with Rupay, China has done it with UnionPay, UAE has done it with Jaywan, Brazil has done it with PIX.”

The lobbying by Ceva and NIBBS comes as the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) seeks to develop a new real-time payments system under its National Payment Strategy 2022-2025.

The CBK aims to create a seamless Fast Payment System (FPS) that will enable instant transactions across all financial institutions, including banks and licensed payment service providers.

The project, estimated to be worth Sh26 billion, has attracted significant interest from both local and international firms.

However, the deal could face pushback from local mobile money operators like Safaricom and commercial banks, who have been advocating for the upgrade of the existing PesaLink system rather than building a new platform from scratch.

PesaLink, owned by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), currently handles $8.5 billion annually and is seen as a faster and more cost-effective solution compared to developing a new system.

Safaricom and KBA estimate that building a new FPS from scratch could cost $200 million and take up to four years to complete, while upgrading PesaLink would be quicker and cheaper.

Local lenders, through their lobby KBA, have argued that upgrading PesaLink would save time, cut costs, and minimize disruptions.

The CBK has yet to make a final decision on the proposed FPS upgrade, but the intense lobbying from both local and international firms highlights the high stakes involved in the lucrative contract.

The outcome of this battle could significantly shape Kenya’s financial landscape, with implications for interoperability, transaction costs, and the overall efficiency of the country’s payment systems.