In a recent development, Safaricom has elevated the transaction limit for M-PESA, Kenya’s most popular mobile money service, to a whopping Sh250,000 per transaction. This change introduces a new transaction band, spanning from Sh151,000 to Sh250,000, encompassing various services like Send Money, Lipa Na M-PESA BuyGoods, and PayBill, among others.
Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom, expressed his approval of this initiative, stating, “We welcome the move by the Central Bank of Kenya to increase M-PESA transaction limits to Sh250,000. The increased transaction limits are a timely intervention as they will provide customers and businesses with additional convenience when doing business empowering them to do more from their phones.”
This substantial increase comes on the heels of the Central Bank of Kenya’s earlier approval in August 2023, which raised the daily and M-PESA limits to Sh500,000. The move is a testament to the growing importance of mobile money in Kenya’s financial landscape.
Mobile money payments soared to a remarkable Sh7.9 trillion in 2022, driven by the surging demand for cashless transactions and the establishment of a staggering 19,711 new money agents.
The Central Bank of Kenya, in collaboration with Payment Service Providers and financial institutions, has taken several measures since 2020 to enhance mobile money transactions, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. These measures, which were initially introduced as temporary relief, have had a lasting impact. There has been a remarkable increase in the volume and value of mobile money transactions, the number of active customers, and services facilitating payments to businesses like pay bills and till numbers.
According to CBK data spanning from March 2020 to June 2023, the number of pay bills and till numbers has surged by 43% and 267%, respectively. Additionally, the volume and value of pay bill payments have skyrocketed by 301% and 352%, respectively, while volume and value of till number payments have surged by 433% and 166%, respectively. These statistics underscore the pivotal role of mobile money in Kenya’s evolving financial landscape.
