As a Kenyan currently living in Hungary, one of the interesting things I have experienced is the contrast between how people pay for everyday things in Kenya and how they pay for them here in Europe. In Kenya, M-PESA is deeply embedded in everyday life. It is difficult to imagine the Kenyan economy without it. We use it to send money to family and friends, pay for goods and services, settle bills, receive payments and conduct business. In Hungary, and more broadly across much of Europe, card and contactless payments are much more visible in everyday transactions. You can walk into a supermarket, restaurant, coffee shop or convenience store, tap your card or phone and continue with your day. After experiencing both environments, I have found myself asking a question that is perhaps more interesting than simply asking which one is better: what would happen if we combined the best parts of both systems?

This question has become increasingly relevant to me because I have come to appreciate something very simple about contactless payments: they reduce the amount of thinking required to make a transaction. I like the idea of simply tapping and going. There is something remarkably convenient about not having to navigate through several menus, enter a business number, enter an amount and go through multiple confirmation steps for a relatively simple purchase. At the same time, I would not want to lose the accessibility and reach that M-PESA has created in Kenya. So perhaps the real opportunity is not to replace M-PESA with cards, or to convince Europe and the rest of the world that M-PESA is automatically the superior solution. Perhaps the opportunity is to take the strengths of both and ask what a better payment ecosystem could look like.

M-PESA Changed the Game in Kenya

It is difficult to discuss digital payments in Kenya without recognizing the enormous impact of M-PESA. Its success was not simply about introducing another way to move money. It addressed a very practical problem in a market where traditional banking infrastructure did not reach everyone equally. A mobile phone became a financial tool, allowing people to participate in digital transactions without necessarily needing the same banking infrastructure that is common in more developed financial markets.

That accessibility is one of M-PESA's greatest strengths, and it is something Kenya should be proud of. The system fits naturally into the way people live and conduct business. A small shop does not necessarily need sophisticated banking infrastructure to receive money from customers, and an individual does not need to understand the complexities of card networks to send money to another person. The simplicity of the underlying concept helped mobile money become deeply integrated into Kenyan society.

"Contactless payments essentially turn the payment instrument into something that can disappear into the background. You are not really 'using a payment system' in the traditional sense. You are simply paying."

Kenya has also continued moving toward greater interoperability within its payment ecosystem. The Central Bank of Kenya has supported interoperability between mobile-money operators, including person-to-person transfers and merchant payments. The National Payments Strategy has similarly emphasized improving the ability to move money between different payment systems efficiently. These developments are important because they demonstrate that the future of Kenyan payments does not necessarily have to be built around isolated systems.

But there is an important distinction between making digital payments possible and making digital payments effortless.

The Beauty of "Tap and Go" One of the things I have come to appreciate while using payment systems in Hungary is the sheer simplicity of contactless transactions. In many situations, I do not have to think about the mechanics of the payment. I select what I want, present my card or phone to the terminal, authenticate when required, and the transaction is completed.

This may sound like a small difference, but payment experiences are often defined by these small differences. When you make one transaction, a few additional steps may not matter. When you make dozens of transactions over a week, month or year, those extra steps become part of the experience.

This is the part of European card culture that I think Kenya can learn from. It is not necessarily the physical plastic card itself. It is the philosophy behind the experience: payments should be fast, predictable, interoperable and convenient.