The National Treasury is set to slash M-Pesa transaction charges in a move that is bound to offer relief to Kenyans. This has been revealed by the cabinet secretary for the National Treasury Ukur Yatani.
According to Yatani, there is an urgent need to make M-Pesa cheaper at a time when the mobile money platform has become deeply entrenched in Kenyans’ business and daily lives.
“Another source of concern with mobile money stems from the perception both by consumers and small businesses that the rents from digital technology are unfairly accruing to Safaricom Plc,” Yatani said. “This is in the area of unconscionable/excessive rates and Safaricom being a critical trading partner for SMEs and consumers… We will soon be presenting some proposed amendments to deal with this scenario.”
Safaricom has lately been facing criticism over what has been termed as exorbitant mobile money transaction charges that border on double charging. For instance, the platform charges both the sender and receiver of any amount above Sh. 1,000.
For instance, sending and withdrawing Sh. 5,000 on M-Pesa is Sh. 159 while Airtel charges Sh. 75. It also costs Sh. 405 to transfer Sh. 25,000 on M-Pesa and Sh. 160 on Airtel.
CBK to force Lipa na M-Pesa to accept payments from Airtel, rivals
The bulk of mobile transactions are currently handled by M-Pesa. The platform accounts for more than 30 million of the service’s 51 million customers across Kenya, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho, Ghana and Egypt.
Central Bank of Kenya is also planning to force Safaricom’s Lipa na M-Pesa to start accepting payments from Airtel and other money transfer rivals. This will be done through a national payment system which the CBK is set to launch in 2024.
Under the new system, customers who have subscribed to Airtel will be able to pay for goods and services using Lipa na M-Pesa till numbers.