Airtel’s virtual card will test Safaricom’s grip on Kenya’s online payments

Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., the Netherlands-based fintech arm of Airtel Africa, plans to launch a virtual payment card in Kenya, setting up a new contest with Safaricom over international online spending.

Developed with Mastercard, the Virtual Card Number (VCN) will integrate with Airtel Money wallets, enabling customers to pay for services on global platforms such as Amazon and Netflix without a traditional bank account.

The launch puts Airtel Money Global Pay in direct competition with M-PESA GlobalPay, Safaricom’s virtual Visa…