This archive report was first published on 24 June 2020.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the country, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has extended measures to promote cashless transactions. This means that Kenyans will continue to enjoy free mobile money transactions below Ksh.1000 for the rest of the year.
According to a statement issued by the CBK on Wednesday, the measures were timely and highly effective in facilitating official and personal transfers at a time of great need.
The CBK has also retained the reviewed tariff of mobile-money transactions above Ksh.70,000. Additionally, the reserve bank has retained the waiver on fees charged by payment service providers (PSPs) and commercial banks for transfers between mobile money wallets and bank accounts.
These measures were agreed upon by the CBK with mobile-money operators on March 16, as the sector voted to support mitigation measures to contain the virus.
However, the measures have impacted on revenue earned by the operators, with Safaricom reportedly losing an estimated Ksh.5.5 billion in M-Pesa in three months to June 30.
Despite this, the cushioning has achieved its desired impact, with Kenyans marking an increase in the use of mobile money facilities. A significant increase in the use of mobile money channels by individuals in both value and number of transactions was noted, with most of the increase being in low-value transactions of Ksh.1,000 or less.
According to an analysis of data from the CBK, daily mobile money transaction increased by an average of 9.4 percent as of April 20 in the aftermath of the emergency measures. The average daily transactions at 5.8 million as of April 20 in comparison to 5.3 million transactions prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
