According to Xpress Money, a global money transfer brand, there has been a 14 per cent increase in remittances from the UAE that culminate onto mobile wallets in Kenya over the last two years.
The brand forecasts an additional increase of 5 per cent by the end of 2017.
Mobile payments are growing worldwide, with the number of active users expected to hit 450 million in 2017. A new World Bank report released in 2017 indicates that mobile wallets have emerged as the cheapest way of conducting a remittance transaction, at fees averaging 3.73 per cent.
Kenyans overseas are increasingly realizing the convenience that mobile wallets offer to their beneficiaries back home. In addition to convenience, the affordability of the service has also drawn their attention as they can save the extra money and send it to their families in Kenya.
Arundhoti Banerjee, associate vice president – Strategy & Digital, Xpress Money, said: “M-Pesa has become an indispensable tool for Kenyan expats remitting from overseas. Mobile wallets create transfer corridors that are more agile and affordable when compared to conventional remittance streams.”
