President William Ruto, on Friday, June 30, announced the closure of all Pay Bill Numbers, with the exception of a single designated channel for remitting government funds directly to the National Treasury.
Speaking at the Kenyatta International Conference (KICC), President Ruto stated that his government was realigning financial management to ensure efficiency and reduce corruption tendencies fostered by physical interactions in government offices.
The Head of State explained that government departments were operating various Pay Bill Numbers, which confused citizens seeking services. Going forward, all government funds will thus be remitted via the Pay Bill number 222222.
"We must shut down the rest of the Pay Bill Numbers and remain only with one to channel all the money to the government through Treasury," Ruto stated.
According to Ruto, there was no reason why one government should be operating so many Pay Bill Numbers which were channelling money to various bank accounts.
He explained that the varied Pay Bill Numbers had made it difficult for the government to streamline financial flows and reconcile accounts for prudent management.
Ruto stated that the many Pay Bill Numbers had also made it difficult for the Office of the Auditor General to conduct proper audits of government accounts. He noted that his government was moving from traditional ways of doing things to more efficient approaches.
"Mobile money pay bill numbers are a convenient and secure way for the government to collect payments from those seeking services.
"The 222222 Pay Bill Number offers a cost-effective way to collect payments, as there are very small fees associated with it," Ruto stated.
How Pay Bill Number Works
Mobile money Pay Bill numbers are a way for businesses and governments to collect payments from those seeking services or buying goods using mobile money.
When a client wants to pay a bill using mobile money, they enter the business's pay bill number into their mobile money app. The pay bill number is a unique identifier that is assigned to each business or government that uses mobile money payments.
Once the customer enters the pay bill number, they enter the amount they want to pay and their mobile money PIN. The mobile money service then sends the payment to the business's mobile money account. The business can then access the funds in their mobile money account and use the money as they deem fit.
The benefits of using mobile money pay bill numbers include convenience to users since clients can pay bills from anywhere, at any time, using their mobile phones.
Mobile money payments are largely secure and encrypted, so customers can be confident that their personal and financial information is safe.
In some cases, there are no fees associated with using mobile money pay bill numbers so businesses can save money on payment processing costs.
