Kenya vs Indonesia · Real-time payment systems compared
| Capability | M-Pesa | QRIS |
|---|---|---|
| QR Code Payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wallet Support | ✓ | ◐ |
| 24/7 Availability | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross-Border | ◐ | ◐ |
| ISO 20022 | — | — |
| Request to Pay | ✓ | — |
| Open API | ✓ | ◐ |
| Alias/Proxy | ✓ | — |
Africa's pioneering mobile money platform that revolutionised financial services by enabling P2P transfers, bill payments, merchant payments, savings, and loans via basic SMS or smartphone app — no bank account required. Launched by Safaricom in Kenya in 2007, M-Pesa now serves 60M+ active users across Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique, and other African markets. It processes more transactions than many traditional banking systems and has become a textbook case study in financial inclusion, reaching unbanked populations through mobile-first design and agent networks. Note: Data follows Safaricom's fiscal year ending March (e.g. "2025" = April 2024 – March 2025).
Indonesia's national QR code standard (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) that unifies QR payments across banks, e-wallets (GoPay, OVO, Dana, ShopeePay), and the BI-FAST rail into a single interoperable code. Unlike most payment systems that are a single rail, QRIS is a multi-rail standard — merchants display one QR code that consumers can scan with any participating app, with settlement happening through whichever rail the consumer's app uses. Mandated by Bank Indonesia, QRIS processed 34B+ transactions in 2024 and is central to Indonesia's financial inclusion strategy for its 17,000-island archipelago.