A motorist spending Sh2,000 for fuel and using Safaricom’s mobile money wallet Lipa Na M-Pesa will now pay Sh10 more compared to a person paying using cash or plastic cards. This follows a decision by some fuel station dealers to pass on half of the one per cent commission charges that they pay to Safaricom to their customers citing low profit margins in the tightly regulated industry.
Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore on Wednesday said the charge on Lipa na M-Pesa users was limited to some petrol stations.
“Lipa na M-Pesa service is still free to end users, however some petrol stations are charging 0.5 per cent of the total value,” Mr Collymore said. Petrol station owners currently pay a one per cent commission on the value of every payment made through Lipa na M-Pesa from the initial 1.5 per cent that Safaricom used to charge during the first months of the service.
Banks charge traders between three and five per cent commission on credit and debit card swipes made by customers, making Lipa na M-Pesa the cheapest cashless payment option for businesses.
The service has registered 49,413 business owners who receive an average of Sh11.6 billion worth of payments per month. “As a matter of transparency, we are running a campaign to inform our consumers about this, warning them that they may attract some charges in some of the petrol stations,” said Mr Collymore.
