Sh418bn dealt through phones in two months

Kenyans transacted over Sh418 billion through their phones in the first two months of the year as they reduced trips to ATMs.

Fresh data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows that the value of mobile money deals in January and February stood at about 20 per cent higher than the Sh352 billion recorded the previous year.

CBK attributes the rise to increased adoption and usage of mobile money services since they were launched in Kenya eight years ago.

The performance tallied with a rise in the number of agents, which stood at 127,187 at the end of February 2015, up from 115,015 in February last year.

Payments made through cards, however, declined in the period by 9.4 per cent to Sh203 billion from Sh224 billion in a similar period in 2014.

The decline was more pronounced on ATM card transactions, whose value fell by 79 per cent to Sh1.5 billion from Sh7 billion in the period under review.

Despite an upsurge in the use of credit cards, which registered a growth of 53 per cent to Sh1.8 billion compared with Sh1.2 billion in the period under focus, the popularity of electronic payment cards has continued to decline following the advent of M-Pesa in 2007.

The mobile money service has since transformed from merely a send-and-receive-only affair to serving a wide range of transactions.

Besides transferring money, it is now used in making banking transactions such as sending or withdrawing cash to and from ones’ bank account, payment of fees to schools and hospital, utility and other bills, shopping online and at retail outlets, and purchasing airtime and data bundles.

“With M-Pesa already accounting for 78 per cent estimated subscriber market share in mobile money transfers (about 63 per cent market share by agents), and the recent upgrade to raise capacity, speeds (faster transactions and authentication), stability and added functionality — we expect the growth to continue remaining robust,” analysts at Standard Investment Bank (SIB) said yesterday.