Following approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Airtel Money Kenya has announced it will increase its daily transaction limit from KSh 300,000 to KSh 500,000.
This move comes after Safaricom's announcement that the daily transaction cap for its mobile money service, M-PESA, would increase to KSh 500,000.
Managing Director of Airtel Money in Kenya, Anne Kinuthia-Otieno, called the move positive because it will benefit the Kenyan economy.
She said the change would give customers and partners more flexibility to conduct larger transactions and manage their finances more effectively.
“Businesses can now conduct their operations more conveniently, and efficiently, and consumers can access a wider range of goods and services, contributing to economic growth, job creation, and improved financial stability in Kenya,” Kinuthia-Otieno said.
However, Airtel Money customers can only send KSh 150,000 at once.
Airtel currently holds a 3.4% market share for mobile money in Kenya. It now occupies second place after Safaricom's M-PESA, which has the highest market share with 96.5%. Telkom Kenya’s T-Kash comes in third at 0.1%.
Airtel Kenya recently disclosed that it had tripled the number of mobile money agents working for it and aimed to reach 120,000 agents by the end of 2023.
Further, Kenya's mobile money subscriptions dropped from 38.6 million in the previous quarter to 38.4 million in March 2023. The penetration rate is now 76.0%, down 2.2% from the last quarter. The decline in mobile money service activity during the reviewed quarter caused the penetration rate to decrease.
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In October 2022, Airtel Kenya officially separated from its mobile money business, Airtel Money. The Central Bank of Kenya emphasised that the change will benefit payment service providers (PSPs) the most because it will allow PSPs to shield their CBK-regulated activities from shocks brought on by other commercial activities.
