The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approved KCB Group’s acquisition of a 75 per cent stake in payments technology firm Riverbank Solutions in a transaction valued at roughly US$15 million, subject to strict conditions on data handling and client contracts.
Under the approval, KCB is required to ring-fence all customer, merchant and transactional data processed through Riverbank’s systems, keeping it separate from the bank’s core platforms. The lender must also honour all existing agreements between Riverbank and its clients. The authority said the data may only be accessed or used to the extent necessary to run the acquired business.
KCB’s separate bid to take a minority stake in another payments company, Pesapal, remains under regulatory scrutiny and was not covered by the approval.
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The acquisition marks another step in KCB’s push to expand beyond conventional lending into digital payments, financial infrastructure and embedded services, as banks across the continent seek new growth avenues amid slowing credit demand and intensifying competition.
Established in 2010, Riverbank Solutions develops payment and revenue-collection platforms for businesses, microfinance institutions and public sector bodies, including county governments and security agencies. Counties such as Kisumu and Migori use its systems to collect public revenue.
Riverbank operates in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, giving KCB an immediate footprint in regional payments infrastructure. The transaction is still subject to final approval by the Central Bank of Kenya.
