MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: To Reduce Spread of COVID-19 in Kenya, Safaricom Suspends Fees for Smaller M-Pesa Mobile Money Transactions, Boosts Maximum Balance, Opens Toll-free Call Center to Answer Coronavirus Questions

At the urging of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, the mobile network operator Safaricom has loosened the terms for Kenyans using its M-Pesa mobile money product for at least the next 90 days. This is intended “to reduce the risk of spreading the [COVID-19] virus through the physical handling of cash.” Customers will pay nothing to send amounts of up to KES 1,000 (USD 9.40). In addition, the Central Bank of Kenya is allowing for a daily M-Pesa transaction limit of KES 150,000 (USD 1,400), up from KES 70,000 (USD 660). The maximum account balance also has been increased to KES 300,000 (USD 2,800).

In a separate measure, Safaricom set up a toll-free number, 719, that users may call to ask questions about “how to prevent and manage suspected cases” of COVID-19.

Safaricom was established in 1997 and offers both mobile and fixed-line telecommunications services. It is 40-percent held by Vodafone Kenya, which is controlled by the UK-based Vodafone Group, and 35-percent held by the government of Kenya. For the six months ending November 2019, Safaricom reports net income of KES 36 billion (USD 340 million) on total revenue of KES 130 billion (USD 1.2 billion) from 28 million customers. During the same period, M-Pesa had 24 million customers, whose transactions totaled KES 4.5 billion (USD 42 million).

As of December 2019, Vodafone Group serves 625 million mobile users in 24 countries and 27 million fixed-line internet customers in 19 countries. The group brought in revenue of EUR 12 billion (USD 13 billion) during the quarter ending that month.

Sources and Additional Resources

Safaricom press release
https://www.safaricom.co.ke/about/media-center/publications/press-releases/release/911

M-Pesa webpage
https://www.safaricom.co.ke/personal/m-pesa

Safaricom finances as of November 2019
https://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Resources_Downloads/HY2020/H1_HY20_Resuts_Presentation.pdf

Vodafone Group financials as of December 2019
https://investors.vodafone.com/static-files/587a2c77-3e6b-4a41-8f2d-c824b01e7b86

More news on mobile money
https://www.microcapital.org/category/mobile-money

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