This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Kenya's mobile money market is set to get a new player with the launch of WhatsApp Pay, a payment service by Facebook that allows users to send money on WhatsApp.
Launched in Brazil on Monday, WhatsApp Pay is integrated with all Facebook social media apps, including Facebook, Facebook Shops, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and WhatsApp Business.
According to Churchill Ogutu, head of research at Genghis Capital, WhatsApp Pay is not a big risk to M-Pesa, but rather a wake-up call for the company to innovate and adapt to changing market dynamics.
‘We do not see WhatsApp Pay as a big risk to M-Pesa but a wake-up call. M-Pesa will have to innovate away from the SIM card-based platform to take opportunities unbound by network or geography and give it more versatility,’ Ogutu said.
With over 90% of daily transactions in Kenya being cash-based, there remains a huge opportunity in the mobile money sector, according to a 2019 report by Financial Sector Deepening (FSD).
‘Payments on WhatsApp are beginning to roll out to people across Brazil beginning today and we look forward to bringing it to everyone as we go forward,’ said Facebook in a blog post on Monday.
