Browsing: Mobile money in Kenya

  • Kenya’s leading telcos have signed a landmark deal that will propel the mobile money space in the country
  • Telkom, Safaricom, and Airtel announced that Kenyans can now make direct mobile money payments to an M-PESA Pay Bill number from any network
  • The companies said the move follows their announcement in April 2022, which saw Kenyans being able to make mobile money payments to M-PESA Buy Goods and Services Tills from any network

Kenya’s leading telcos have signed a landmark deal that will propel the mobile money space in the country.

On Friday, July 15, 2022, Telkom, Safaricom, and Airtel signed a deal to allow Kenyans to make direct mobile money payments to an M-PESA Pay Bill number from any network.

In a statement, the telecommunications companies said the move follows their announcement in April 2022, which saw Kenyans being able to make mobile money payments to M-PESA Buy Goods and …

  • Mobile money is growing fast in East Africa
  • Despite of the pandemic, still mobile money regulators enabled its performance
  • Financial technologies are changing the way unbanked populations access finance services 

Mobile money is still king in Africa and will be so for long. With more than 548 million (up 12 per cent) registered accounts attached to a 27.4 billion transaction volume worth $490 billion, Africa stands to draw billions from mobile money and transform its economies significantly (GSMA 2021). 

Thanks to financial technology (fintech) which has accelerated financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa, now more than ever, the unbanked population in rural areas of Africa can access financial services seamlessly, even during the coronavirus pandemic’s harsh times. 

Today fintech technologies are challenging traditional financial services, particularly banks in Africa. This has forced banks to adapt to the new game brought by fintech aggregators, including fusing their services to mobile services and

East Africa is a global leader of mobile money with the highest penetration of mobile money in the world according to a report by the African Union in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development.

The joint report is titled; Africa’s Development Dynamics’ authored by the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development.

Mobile money services are provided by telecommunication companies and supported by a network of licensed agents that allows registered users to deposit and withdraw cash in a virtual wallet.

According to data from the report, for every 1,000 adults, the East Africa region has 1,106 registered mobile money accounts compared to  600 for the whole of Africa, 533 and 245 for Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean respectively.

The penetration is higher in the region with most adults subscribers owning one or more mobile money accounts.

East Africa a global leader of mobile money- report
Source: TechCabal

According …