Matatu Owner Moves to Court to Block Cashless Payment System

There seems to be another red light at a distance for the cashless payment system for public transport vehicles after a matatu owner went to court to challenge its implementation.
James Maina Mugo, through his lawyer, Harrison Kinyanjui, refers the big changeover to ‘gross violation of the rights of Kenyans who use matatus' since there are no official amendments which have been made to the law and tabled in Parliament or even approved.
“In the circumstances, the cash light payment scheme for Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) that sought to be imposed by the transport ministry and the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) is illegal,” said Mr Kinyanjui.

This comes days after the Matatu Owners Association (MoA), through its national coordinator, Mr Albert Karagacha, embraced the changeover by sending out vendors to all bus stops in Nairobi from where commuters are purchasing the cards.
The system, which will take effect as from Monday (December 1, 2014), has been clouded with concerns about the security of the cards and the low awareness among the larger public.
To own a card, a user requires a bank account and an email account, a reason why Mr Kinyanjui argues that implementing the payment system for public service vehicles (PSVs) is akin to compelling commuters against their wish. Further, he alleges that the National Payment System Regulation 2014 forbids service providers charging fees unless the customer agrees to pay the charge.
Hitherto, the Central Bank of Kenya has approved Equity Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Co-operative Bank, Family Bank, Fibre Space and Safaricom Limited to offer the cashless payment system services to PSVs at a fee.