CBK Caps Mobile Money Fees: M-Pesa and Airtel Users to Pay Less for Transfers in Kenya

Kenyans could soon enjoy cheaper mobile money transfers as the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) moves to cap transaction fees on popular services like M-Pesa and Airtel Money. The decision comes amid concerns that high costs are slowing the growth of mobile payments, limiting access to essential financial services for millions of people across the country.

The CBK highlighted that most Kenyans primarily use mobile money for simple person-to-person transfers, with far fewer taking advantage of digital loans, savings, or insurance products. Under the new Kenya National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2025–2028, the regulator aims to reduce the average cost of a mobile money transaction from about Ksh 23 in 2024 to just Ksh 10 by 2028, making digital finance more accessible to everyone.

Currently, some users pay as much as 6.9% of the amount they send, a rate often higher than similar bank transactions. The CBK argues that these steep fees have discouraged many Kenyans from fully using mobile financial services. In its statement, the central bank emphasized that mobile money remains one of the most transformative tools for financial inclusion, but pricing, limited interoperability, and poorly designed products have restrained its full potential.

M-Pesa, owned by Safaricom, dominates over 90% of Kenya’s mobile money market, with personal cash transfers accounting for nearly 40% of its revenue. While fee caps could impact profits, CBK insists the reforms are aimed at fairness and transparency rather than penalizing businesses. The bank also called on telecom operators and Parliament to support the new rules that will make pricing more transparent and equitable.

Kenya’s mobile money ecosystem has already demonstrated its transformative power. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBK temporarily removed charges on transfers below Ksh 1,000, resulting in 6.2 million new active users and a surge in monthly person-to-person transactions from 162 million to 440 million, with the transaction value rising from Ksh 234 billion to Ksh 399 billion. Today, Kenya boasts 47.7 million mobile money subscriptions, covering 91% of the population, and CBK’s next goal is to make the service more affordable while bridging the gap between the banked and unbanked.

source: business today