Before I even reached this year’s Africa Bitcoin Conference, I noticed participants sharing about Tando, a novel payments application based in Kenya that enables users to utilize their sats with retailers who do not accept bitcoin.
Just landed in Nairobi 🇰🇪🛬 & the first thing I see as I step out is the @tando_me banner
LET’S GO @AfroBitcoinOrg 🙌🏾 pic.twitter.com/zhPSP2dTH8
— OKIN | Nikolai Tjongarero (@OKIN_17) December 8, 2024
“How can this be?”, you may wonder. Well, allow me to clarify.
To utilize Tando, you merely download the application and prepare to pay any vendor who accepts payments through M-PESA, Kenya’s mobile financial service. (Note that I didn’t state you had to complete any setup or KYC procedure, as neither are required — Tando doesn’t gather any identifying details from its users.)
When the vendor provides you with your bill, you just hit the “Send Money” button on the app’s main screen. From that point, you enter the mobile number associated with the M-PESA account to which you’re transferring funds and then specify the amount of Kenyan shillings you wish to send.
The app automatically determines the amount of sats needed to match the shilling figure you’ve specified. You then tap the green “Create Invoice” button to generate a Lightning invoice. After that, you copy the invoice and settle it using your preferred Lightning wallet. Tando receives the sats and subsequently pays the bill in shillings to the vendor within seconds.
I can hardly keep track of how many times I’ve observed Bitcoin enthusiasts use Tando to cover restaurant tabs or taxi fares since my arrival. (I’ve dined at numerous eateries and taken many taxis since I got here.)
Now, I understand what some of you might be thinking: Tando connects with a fiat payment mechanism, which implies it should be excluded from the Church of Bitcoin.
However, before you let yourself entertain such thoughts, please reflect on the following points:
- You’re a loser.
- Here in Kenya, similar to other regions of Africa, individuals actively utilize bitcoin for payments.
- When you demonstrate to someone how to operate Tando, it presents you with a chance to educate the vendor about Bitcoin while showing them how the application functions. (I witnessed Gorilla Sats’ Brindon Mwiine expertly do this for a waitress at a conference after-party.)
- M-PESA necessitates that its users complete KYC, and some Kenyan citizens lack the necessary documentation to do so, which results in their exclusion from the system. By using Tando, they can be included in Kenya’s wider monetary framework.
The buzz surrounding Tando at the conference was part of the larger enthusiasm for applications that simplify bitcoin utilization across the African continent — applications like Bitsacco, Machankura, Fedi and Bitnob.
Huge shout out to the developers creating #Bitcoin wallets more user-friendly.@bitsacco @Machankura8333 @fedibtc @tando_me @Loicbtc pic.twitter.com/UhVw5bnBxO
— Frank Corva (@frankcorva) December 11, 2024
African Bitcoiners are significantly ahead of their peers in the United States when it comes to employing bitcoin as it is meant to be used — as peer-to-peer electronic cash.
And while numerous Africans are diligently striving to onboard as many vendors as they can to Bitcoin, Tando serves as an excellent intermediary measure that allows Bitcoin users to expel their sats even if the vendors they’re engaging with do not yet accept bitcoin payments.
This article is a Take. Views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
