TouristTap launch signals shift to cashless tourism economy

Nairobi, Kenya: THE launch of TouristTap, a new cashless payment platform developed by Craft Silicon, marks a significant step towards digitising the tourism value chain and enhancing visitor experience across East Africa.

Unveiled in Kenya, the platform enables seamless, secure and cashless transactions across key tourism touchpoints, including airports, hotels, national parks and informal sectors such as local markets, kiosks and transport services.

TouristTap allows travellers to make payments using NFC-enabled mobile devices by entering local till numbers or mobile payment details and completing transactions with a secure PIN, eliminating the need for cash handling or currency exchange.

This innovation addresses a long-standing challenge in the tourism sector, where fragmented payment systems and reliance on cash have often inconvenienced visitors and limited revenue tracking.

The platform’s integration across both formal and informal service providers could significantly improve financial inclusion by bringing small-scale operators into the digital economy. This is particularly important in tourism-dependent regions, where many service providers operate outside formal banking systems.

According to Craft Silicon Group CEO Kamal Budhabhatti, the solution ushers in a new era of convenience while promoting transparency and operational efficiency across the sector.

The system is supported by KCB Bank as the acquiring partner and Visa, powered by CyberSource on the Visa Acceptance Platform, ensuring global standards of security and reliability.

Visa’s East Africa General Manager Chad Pollock underscored the importance of seamless payment systems in shaping visitor experiences and unlocking tourism growth, while KCB representative Johnson Ondicho highlighted the platform’s alignment with efforts to expand digital payments infrastructure.

The initiative also supports the broader digital transformation agenda under William Ruto, which prioritises the integration of technology into key economic sectors.

With strong institutional backing and strategic partnerships, TouristTap is poised to redefine how visitors engage with destinations, positioning cashless ecosystems as a central pillar of modern tourism development in the region.