Mvisa users have to be connected to one of four Kenyan banks that have partnered with Visa. M-Pesa users only need an ID card and registered cell phone—they don’t have to be connected to a bank, which is one reason why the platform has become so popular. More adults have mobile money accounts than bank accounts in East Africa, according to GSMA’s 2015 report (pdf) on mobile money. On Mvisa, smartphone users pay for goods by scanning “quick response” or QR codes, making it similar to payment systems in messaging apps like China’s WeChat. Feature phone users can key in SSID codes.

http://qz.com/781365/visa-has-launched-a-mobile-money-platform-to-challenge-m-pesa-in-kenya/