Integrated mobile service provider Safaricom has partnered with the Kenyan judiciary to launch Faini Chap Chap, a mobile payment solution allowing traffic offenders to pay fines using M-Pesa.
Speaking at Kibera Law Courts during the launch on Thursday, Chief Justice (CJ) Dr. Willy Mutunga said that the new initiative would improve service delivery to law breakers on Kenyan roads by offering faster services.
Faini Chap Chap will enable prompt clearance of fines, thus saving on time and congestion from long queues.
The system was piloted for three months in Nairobi’s Kibera estate and Kilimani law courts.
“The service is fast and efficient. In a bid to improve efficiency, the Judiciary and Safaricom have come together to unveil a system which will be for paying traffic fines. Faini Chap Chap would be rolled out to other courts across the country later on,” Mutunga said.
Users registered with M-Pesa can access the service by selecting Paybill on the M-Pesa menu before entering the law court’s account number. They can later key in the amount the of fine in Kenyan shillings and make payment. A confirmation text message will indicate if payment has been successful.
Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, M-Pesa has more than 15 million users. The judiciary selected the platform as a result of its domination of Kenya’s mobile money market. The service allows users to deposit and withdraw money as well as pay bills.
Mobile money payments have showed significant growth in the last five years. According to the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) mobile report released recently, total deposits of mobile money increased by 4.8 percent to KSh 185.4 billion (US$ 2.19 billion).
The number of mobile subscribers as of March 2012 increased to 29.02 million as compared to 28.08 million in December 2011.
