Safaricom has announced waiving of fees for person to person transactions below Ksh1000 for the next 90 days. The move follows government directive seeking ways to deepen mobile money usage to reduce the risk of spreading the virus through the physical handling of cash.
In addition, Safaricom will increase the daily MPESA transaction limit from the current Ksh70,000 to Ksh150,000 for small and micro business enterprises (SMEs).
Further, the telco revealed that Kenyans will be able to transact up to Ksh300,000 up from the current limit of Ksh140,000 and hold upto Ksh300,000 in their MPESA wallets.
Safaricom will also collaborate with the government to set up a call center and integrating a toll free line 719 to assist Kenyans in understanding how to prevent and manage suspected cases.
Central Bank of Kenya held a consultative meeting with Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to set measures that will facilitate increased use of mobile money transactions instead of cash.
Some of the proposals adopted between midnight March 16 until June 30, 2020 include;
- There will be no charge for mobile money transactions up to Ksh1000
- The transaction limit for mobile money is increased to Ksh150,000.
- The daily limit for mobile money transactions is increased to Ksh300,000
- The mobile money wallet limit is increased to Ksh300,000
- The monthly total limit for mobile money transactions is eliminated
- The current tariff for mobile money transactions for Ksh70,000 will apply for transactions up to Ksh150,000.
- PSPs and commercial banks will eliminate charges for transfers between mobile money wallets and bank accounts.
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