Foreign visitors to Kenya now have a new way to make local payments without first buying a Kenyan SIM card or opening a local mobile money wallet.
The service, called TouristTap, allows visitors to use a smartphone and a bank card to send payments to Kenyan mobile money accounts and bank accounts. The convenience comes with a cost, however, and the fees can be much higher than those paid by local users.
How foreigners can pay without a Kenyan SIM
TouristTap was launched in Kenya in April 2026 as a digital payment service aimed at visitors. It was developed by Craft Silicon in partnership with KCB Bank and Visa and was introduced with support from Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.
The system uses NFC, the same short-range technology used for contactless card payments. A visitor downloads the TouristTap app, registers, and uses an NFC-enabled phone to read a supported credit or debit card.
The visitor can then enter a Kenyan till number, Paybill number or mobile phone number and complete the payment.
This is important for tourists because traditional M-Pesa use normally requires a registered Kenyan mobile number. TouristTap is designed to remove that first hurdle.
What does TouristTap cost?
The main drawback is the transaction fee.
A recent example shows how much the difference can be. A tourist sent KSh 4,800, which was about US$37, to a short-stay apartment owner using TouristTap. The service charged KSh 240, equal to 5 percent of the payment.
The same KSh 4,800 transaction would have cost about KSh 57 through M-Pesa or Airtel Money, while PesaLink, a Kenyan bank transfer service, would have charged about KSh 20 in the example.
| Payment method | Cost on KSh 4,800 example | Approximate percentage |
|---|---|---|
| TouristTap | KSh 240 | 5% |
| M-Pesa | KSh 57 | About 1.2% |
| Airtel Money | KSh 57 | About 1.2% |
| PesaLink | KSh 20 | About 0.4% |
The exact amount a customer pays can depend on the service and transaction, so travelers should check the fee shown before confirming a payment.
Cashia offers another option
TouristTap is not the only service targeting visitors who do not have Kenyan SIM cards.
Cashia is another payment platform that allows users to make payments by scanning QR codes. It is also aimed at people who want to pay local merchants without setting up a Kenyan mobile money account.
In the same KSh 4,800 example, Cashia could charge up to KSh 203, or just under 5 percent.
That puts both services in a similar price range for that transaction.
The basic options for a foreign visitor now look like this:
- Use a service such as TouristTap or Cashia without getting a Kenyan SIM.
- Buy a local SIM and register for M-Pesa.
- Pay directly by credit or debit card where the merchant accepts cards.
- Use cash where digital payment options are not available.
Why the higher fee may still appeal to tourists
For a traveler staying in Kenya for only a few days, avoiding a SIM purchase can be valuable.
A local SIM requires registration and may not seem worthwhile to someone who is visiting briefly. Tourists may also want to keep their existing phone number active for calls, messages and account verification.
TouristTap is designed to solve that problem. The visitor can keep using their existing phone and bank card while making payments into the Kenyan payment system.
The service is particularly useful in places where a small merchant may accept mobile money but may not have a traditional card terminal.
Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism says TouristTap is intended to help visitors make cashless payments and give businesses another way to accept payments without traditional point-of-sale equipment.
It does not make M-Pesa unnecessary
The new services do not replace M-Pesa for everyone.
M-Pesa remains deeply established in Kenya, and local users can generally make payments through the country’s mobile money system at much lower transaction costs than the examples reported for tourist-focused services.
For a visitor staying for several weeks or making many small purchases, the cost difference can become significant.
For example, a 5 percent fee on a KSh 10,000 payment would be KSh 500. The same percentage applied repeatedly could add a noticeable amount to a travel budget.
This means tourists need to weigh the cost of convenience against the time and effort involved in getting a local SIM and setting up M-Pesa.
What tourists should check before paying
The biggest advantage of a SIM-free payment service is simplicity, but visitors should still check the transaction details before confirming.
The payment screen should be reviewed carefully to make sure the recipient information and amount are correct.
A few practical points are worth remembering:
- Check the recipient’s till, Paybill or phone number before confirming.
- Look at the transaction fee before approving the payment.
- Keep the payment confirmation after a successful transaction.
- Use only the official version of the payment application and keep your phone protected.
Tourists should also remember that a payment service’s availability does not mean every Kenyan merchant will accept it. Local businesses still need to be able to receive the particular type of payment being used.
Why this matters for Kenya’s tourism industry
The problem these services are trying to solve is real.
Kenya has a large mobile money economy, but a foreign visitor may arrive with an international bank card and no Kenyan phone number. A merchant that accepts M-Pesa but does not have a card terminal can therefore be difficult for the tourist to pay.
TouristTap attempts to connect those two systems. The visitor pays using a bank card, while the merchant can receive the money through a mobile money account or bank account.
Kenya’s government presented the service as a way to make payments easier for visitors, especially in parts of the tourism economy where traditional card terminals may not be available.
The trade-off is convenience versus cost
For short visits, paying a few extra shillings may be worth avoiding the process of buying and registering a local SIM.
For longer trips, however, the calculation can change.
A traveler who expects to make many payments could save money by getting a local SIM and using M-Pesa. The upfront setup takes more effort, but ordinary local payment fees can be considerably lower.
There is no single best option for every visitor. The right choice depends largely on how long the person will stay, how often they expect to make mobile money payments and whether their existing bank card is widely accepted.
The bottom line
Foreigners visiting Kenya no longer have to depend entirely on a local SIM card to make digital payments. TouristTap gives visitors a way to use an existing credit or debit card through an NFC-enabled phone and send money to Kenyan mobile money or bank accounts.
The convenience is not cheap. In a reported KSh 4,800 transaction, TouristTap charged KSh 240, or 5 percent, while M-Pesa and Airtel Money charged about KSh 57 and PesaLink charged KSh 20 for the same amount.
For a short holiday, that extra cost may be an acceptable price for avoiding a local SIM and mobile money registration. For longer stays or frequent payments, a local M-Pesa account may still be the cheaper option.
The important change is that visitors now have another choice. They can arrive in Kenya with their existing phone and bank card and still access a payment system that works with local merchants, even without first getting a Kenyan SIM.