Kenya: Safaricom PLC slashes M-Pesa paybill charges to half

NAIROBI, Kenya - East African largest telecommunication firm-Safaricom PLC has reduced its M-Pesa pay bill charges by half to foster competition within the mobile money payment industry.

The Safaricom customers paying between $0.81 and $4.05) in pay bill charges will now be charged $0.032, down from $0.19 in new tariffs applicable this coming Sunday.

All transactions below $ 1 have been zero-rated. These are part of new charges for money transactions between customers and businesses, amid increased demand for mobile payment services.

Payments between $ 4 to $ 8 .10 will incur $0.073, down from $ 0.19 while those between $405 and $1,215 will cost $0.85, down from $1.70.

Those businesses sending money to customers will be charged $0.041 for payments between $ .81 and $12.16, compared to the current $0.12.

Safaricom PLC's statement reads“In the new changes, business to M-Pesa charges have been reduced by an average of 41 percent while M-Pesa Paybill charges have been reduced by an average of 47 percent. The pay bill tariffs are also applicable to customers sending money to a bank.”

Safaricom Plc has also announced new charges for transactions between bank accounts and M-Pesa where bank-to-M-Pesa transaction charges have been reduced by an average of 61 percent and M-Pesa-to-bank charges have been reduced by an average of 47 percent.

Mid this month the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ago announced the reintroduction of charges for transactions between mobile money wallets and bank accounts after negotiations with lenders and mobile money payment firms.

“The reduced M-Pesa to bank tariff will also apply to all M-Pesa pay bill payments that customers use for utilities such as electricity, hospital bills, schools, government payments, etc. to ensure affordability,” said Safaricom Plc revealed in an earlier statement last week.

The CBK waived the charges in March 2020 as part of measures that were put in place by the government to facilitate the use of mobile money to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The reinstatement of the charges will boost the earnings of lenders who record income from transactions as part of their non-funded income, and mobile network operators who derive significant sums of their income from mobile money transactions.

GAROWE ONLINE