Raised mobile cash cap to boost digital services

Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Kamau Thugge before National Assembly Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning at Parliament buildings Nairobi on August 16, 2023. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NMG

The newly raised daily transaction limit on mobile money platforms to Sh500,000 will boost the government’s efforts to digitise payments, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has said.

The financial regulator also allowed individuals and businesses to hold Sh500,000 in their mobile money wallets, boosting telcos’ strength to compete against banks.

Read: Safaricom triples daily M-Pesa limits to Sh500,000

“The new measures are also expected to support efforts by the government to digitise payments for services offered to Kenyans,” said the CBK in a statement.

President William Ruto in June unveiled the Digital Government Services dubbed Gava Mkononi which will enable Kenyans to access 5,000 services online.

Payments for most government services on the e-Citizen portal are done through M-Pesa.

Users of M-Pesa were previously allowed to hold up to Sh300,000 in their wallets.

Increased transactions on M-Pesa also quickens the country’s march to a cashless economy, which gathered momentum at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The CBK noted that between March 2020 and June 2023 the number of pay bills and till numbers increased by 43 percent and 267 percent respectively.

The volume and value of pay bill payments have increased by 301 percent and 352 percent, respectively.

Read: Banks’ digital shift roadmap

And the volume and value of till number payments have increased by 433 percent and 166 percent, respectively in the review period.

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