Safaricom cuts M-Pesa fees for Kenyan enterprises
Safaricom, Kenya’s largest mobile network operator, has reduced M-Pesa transaction fees for enterprise customers, according to Telecompaper. The adjustment is aimed at easing operating costs for Kenyan businesses that depend on the mobile money platform for daily collections and disbursements.
M-Pesa, launched by Safaricom in 2007, has grown into one of the most widely used mobile money services in the world and a backbone of Kenya’s digital payments infrastructure. The platform allows users to send and receive money, settle bills, purchase goods, and access short-term credit through basic mobile handsets, drawing millions of previously unbanked citizens into the formal financial system.
For businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, M-Pesa has become a primary channel for receiving customer payments and paying suppliers. Traders, taxi operators, and small retailers often cite transaction fees as a meaningful line item, meaning even modest reductions can affect profit margins across the informal and formal sectors alike.
Kenya is widely regarded as a global leader in mobile money adoption. M-Pesa handles the overwhelming majority of person-to-person and small-business digital transactions in the country. The Central Bank of Kenya has periodically reviewed the pricing structure of mobile money services, weighing consumer protection against the commercial viability of the operators providing them.
By lowering the cost of M-Pesa transactions for enterprises, Safaricom is positioning its flagship platform as a more competitive tool for businesses, particularly as digital payment offerings from rival operators and bank-led fintech platforms have grown in recent years.
Sources
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