M-Pesa Now Accounts For 98.8% Of All Mobile Money Customers

The latest report released by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) showed that Safaricom’s M-Pesa is still the giant to beat when it comes to mobile money services in Kenya.

According to the report, as of December 31, 2019, there were 28.9 million active mobile money users in Kenya using mobile money platforms mostly to send and receive cash.

Of the 28.9 million active mobile money users in Kenya, Safaricom’s M-Pesa accounted for 28.6 million active users, about 98.8 percent of the total number.

Airtel Money came in second with slightly above 300,000 active users followed from a distance by Telkom Kenya’s T-Kash with at least 19,606 subscriptions.

In terms of mobile money agents, as of December 31, 2020, there were a total of 205,328 mobile money agents across the country. M-Pesa still carried the day with 175,959 agents followed by Airtel Money with 26,313 while Telkom Kenya’s T-Kash had 3,056.

In terms of C2B cash transfers, Safaricom’s M-Pesa had 293,789,439,864 shillings. Airtel Money had 201,296,536 shillings while Telkom Kenya’s T-Kash had 20,242,930 shillings.

In terms of B2C transfers, Safaricom’s M-Pesa had 377,185,559,819 shillings. Airtel Money had 219,140740 shillings while T-Kash had 8,582,033 shillings.

In terms of the total value of deposits, Safaricom’s M-Pesa still had the lion’s share with 604,968,609,203 shillings followed by Airtel Money with 1,963,158,344 shillings while T-Kash had 27,923,145 shillings.

The total money deposited during the period under review according to the Communications Authority of Kenya was 606,959,690,692 shillings.

Kenya has been hailed for being a giant in financial inclusion for more than 10 years thanks to mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa.

The majority of customers say they prefer M-Pesa to others because M-Pesa is virtually everywhere. One does not need to sweat to get an M-Pesa agent, unlike the other players.

The introduction of Fuliza, an overdraft facility from M-Pesa made it an instant hit, pulling more customers to the platform who not only used the facility to pay for products and services but also sent to various individuals.

READ: M-PESA: Shaping The Financial Inclusion Journey For Kenyans