Safaricom effects new M-Pesa transaction costs
Following the proposed two per cent increase on the excise duty charged on service providers, Safaricom has revised M-Pesa transaction costs upwards, effective July 1, 2018. FILE | PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Withdrawal of amount between Sh501 and Sh2,500 from an M-Pesa agent will now cost Sh28 up from Sh27.
- Safaricom has joined three bands into one which will now be between Sh20,001 and Sh35,000 and which will now cost Sh19 to withdraw.
- The firm has also stated that customers will not be able to withdraw less than Sh50 from agents.
It will now cost you more to transact on M-Pesa after Safaricom released new tariffs which have become effective as from Sunday, July 1.
This comes after the government proposed a two per cent increase on the excise duty charged on service providers.
“Pursuant to the Finance Bill, 2018 and the Provisional Collection of Taxes and Duties Act, we have made the following adjustments to our M-Pesa tariffs,” read the notice by Safaricom on Saturday Nation.
Withdrawal of amount between Sh501 and Sh2,500 from an M-Pesa agent will now cost Sh28 up from Sh27 while withdrawing Sh2,501 and Sh3,500 which was previously Sh49 will now cost Sh50.
SH1 INCREASE
The same Sh1 increase also applies to withdrawals between Sh3,501 and Sh5,000 which will now cost Sh67.
Further, withdrawing between Sh5,001 and Sh7,500 and Sh7, 501 and Sh10,000 will now cost Sh2 more up from Sh82 and Sh110 to Sh84 and Sh112 respectively.
A Sh3 increase has been slapped on transactions between Sh10,001 and Sh15,000 which will now stand at Sh162. Sh4 increase applies on withdrawals between Sh15,001 and Sh20, 000 up from Sh176 to Sh180.
At the same time, Safaricom has joined three bands into one which will now be between Sh20,001 and Sh35,000 and which will now cost Sh191 in withdrawal charges up from Sh187.
However, those withdrawing huge amounts of money will be relieved as a new band for withdrawals between Sh35,001 and Sh50,000 and will cost Sh270, a relief for users as it will now cost Sh5 less than before.
The last band of amounts between Sh50,001 and Sh70,000 will cost Sh300 to withdraw, down from Sh330.
TRANSFER
The changes have also affected transfer to M-Pesa users with a Sh1 increase for the transfer of amounts between Sh101 and Sh5,000.
Meanwhile, Safaricom has limited the number of free transactions of below Sh100 to three in a day which, if exceeded, then M-Pesa users will pay Sh1 for amounts between Sh1 and Sh49 and Sh2 for amounts between Sh50 and Sh100.
The firm has also stated that customers will not be able to withdraw less than Sh50 from agents while the maximum daily transaction value that any user is allowed stands at Sh140,000 and the maximum amount per transaction is Sh70,000.
“You cannot deposit money directly into another M-Pesa customer`s account at an agent outlet,” read the notice.
