According to the Daily Nation Kenyans will soon be able to buy government debt including Treasury Bills and bonds using their mobile phones, according to a project dubbed, ‘Treasury Mobile Direct’, launched by the World Bank and Central Bank.

The scheme aims to capitalise on the popularity and success of mobile money transfer services in the country. The number of mobile money subscribers in the country stood at 18.9 million by April 2012, with money deposited through mobile phones amounting to Sh177 billion.

The project, will require potential investors to be registered as mobile money subscribers with the various operators in the country, who will open Central Depository System accounts for them.

“Today, any Kenyan can pay their electricity bill with the phone, and so will they be able to pay for bonds bought,” said Mr Yira Mascaro, who leads the World Bank’s financial and private sector development group in Nairobi, which is behind the initiative. The scheme will help individuals cultivate a culture of savings and increase participation in the bond market, which is currently less than 3 per cent.

The first phase will be rolled out to bank holders before being integrated with the unbanked.