The number of mobile money transactions declined by 7% in September compared to the start of the year, according to the latest data from the KNBS.
- However, the number of mobile money agents increased from 321,340 in January to 367,551 in September, with subscriptions rising slightly by 3.4%.
- For the nine months last year, the value of mobile money transactions rose by 12% while they dropped by 14.5% for the nine months this year.
- February registered the highest value of mobile money transactions standing at KSh 790.8 billion while the lowest value were recorded in September with KSh 670.52 billion.
The total value of the transactions between January and September this year was about KSh 6.5 trillion compared to KSh 5.8 trillion in the same period last year. The growth can be attributed to the change in transaction policy by Airtel in August last year – raising its transaction limit to KSh 250,000 from KSh 150,000 after engaging with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
The Telco also maintained the transaction charges for this band, retaining the fees set initially for transactions between KSh 70,001 to KSh 150,000. This was intended to make higher transactions flexible and relatively cheap, allowing intensified use of mobile money services by businesses.
Mobile Money remains an invaluable resource for financial inclusion in Kenya. According to CA data, mobile money subscriptions stood at almost 40 million in the country – translating to a 77.3% penetration rate. Safaricom’s M-Pesa remains the leading service garnering 93.4% of the market.
The prominence of mobile money has drawn interest from lawmakers who want the services to be divested from their respective telco providers. A bill in parliament codifying this requirement is set to enter the committee stage for clause analysis. Safaricom has expressed dissatisfaction with the bill, realising how invaluable M-Pesa is to their revenue dominance.
The taxman also wants his share from the lucrative spoils, determining mobile money as an avenue for expanding the tax base. KRA has noted its intention to convert mobile Paybill and till numbers into Electronic Tax Registers (ETRs) that will nab tax evaders and ensure informal businesses bear their revenue burden.
KRA has also rallied for the authentication of phone numbers on the iTax system. This is also intended to trace informal traders’ money transactions and quantify how much they should pay as taxes. This has prompted an uproar from Kenyans who believe that the authority’s inroads into the mobile money sector will push many into the cash economy as a way of protecting their privacy.
