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Lewis Njoka @LewisNjoka

Kenya gained an additional 2.8 million mobile money customers in the period between February and October this year, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has revealed.

The increase is one of the key successes of the emergency measures to facilitate mobile money transactions announced on March 16 in response the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the measures, which come to an end on December 31, people were encouraged to transact via mobile money with amounts less than Sh1,000 attracting no transaction charges.

“A significant increase of mobile money usage has been noted over the period the measures have been in place, demonstrating that they were timely and effective,” CBK said in a statement.

Over the period, monthly volume of person-to-person transactions increased by 87 per cent while that of transactions below Sh1,000 increased by 114 per cent.

Business-related transactions also recorded significant growth over period, according to CBK.

With the expiry of the measures announced in March, CBK has announced a new pricing structure to take effect beginning January 1.

Under the new guidelines announced yesterday, sending amounts up to Sh100 from person to person and transferring money between mobile money wallets and bank accounts will attract no charges.

Saccos that are regulated by Sacco societies Regulatory Authority (Sasra), however, will be allowed to levy charge for transfers between Sacco accounts and mobile money wallets with CBK overseeing the charges. 

“Going forward, payment service providers will propose pricing structures that reflect the pricing principles that CBK has introduced,” said the banking sector regulator.