Mobile Money Subscribers In Kenya Hit 31.6 Million

Total number of active mobile money subscriptions were at 31.6 million while the total number of agents stood at 223,931 between October and December 2018.

This is according to a recent report released by the Communication Authority of Kenya(CA). There was a 6.2 percent increase in the number of mobile money subscriptions which stands at 49.5 million. Person-to-person transfers were valued at USD 7.3 Bn.

Owed to the multiple SIM cards ownership in the country, mobile subscription had a penetration level of 106.2 percent. Mobile money transactions recorded for the period under review culminated USD 20.9 Bn with a total of 787.8 million transactions (P2P and withdrawals).

More and more people continue to embrace the cashless economy as at least 85.71 per cent of total mobile cash transfers were used to pay for goods and services through mobile devices.

Report findings revealed that Safaricom PLC’s Mpesa retained its position as the dominant mobile money transferred platform. It controlled 92.02 per cent or USD 19.4 Bn of the total transactions recorded. Notably, USD 13.4 Bn of this was used in mobile commerce.

Equitel came second and it accounted for USD 5.7 billion of the total transaction value. Airtel money transacted USD 13.6 Mn while T-Kash recorded USD 1.9 Mn.
According to the CA data, mobile money transactions hit an average of USD 148K per minute last year. USD 214K was being deposited, withdrawn or used to pay for goods and services via mobile money every hour.

Through deposits, withdrawals and mobile commerce transfers, at least USD 78 Bn was transacted a 35 per cent rise from USD 58 Bn transacted in 2017.

Mobile money transactions has continued to gain traction as it rose by USD 3.3 Bn to USD 21 Bn between October-December.

Featured Image Courtesy: Fiona Bradley