Kenya: Value of Mobile Money Transactions in Kenya Up By 63pc

Nairobi — The value of mobile subscriptions in Kenya grew by 63.2 percent from 9,392 trillion in 2020 to Sh 15.3 trillion in 2021 underlying the increased use of mobile money.

According to the 2022 Economics survey released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the number of total mobile money transactions recorded a 16 percent jump to 2,165 million while the total transfers grew from 5.2 billion to 6.8 billion.

The number of money deposited through agents rose by 44 percent from 3,231 billion to 4, 666 billion while the transfer from subscriber to subscriber rose by 30 percent from 3, 234 billion to 4,191 billion.

The mobile money agency business has been booming as banks seek options for brick and motor channels to reach their customers.

Mobile money transfer agents rose from 264,390 to 292,301 and the mobile money transfer service subscribers rose from 32 million to 35 million.

In 2021, mobile money subscribers rose by 8.5 percent to 35.2 million.

In addition, over the same period, mobile numbers ported decreased by 24.8 percent from 1,437 to 1,081 partly attributed to hesitation by subscribers to move from one operator to another.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is a service that enables users to change or ‘port’ mobile operators while retaining their numbers.