Safaricom announces new M-Pesa tariff reductions

 

Safaricom on Tuesday announced new Mpesa tariff reductions.

 Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said the new tariffs is in consideration of the expiry of the period for the zero-rated M-PESA transactions and the ongoing Covid-19 and economic circumstances. 

Ndegwa said the new tariff reductions will affect more than 90 percent of all customer transactions when sending money.

“As part of different measures to help the country better weather the Covid-19 Pandemic, we announced the temporary zero-rating of M-PESA transactions in March. Our regulator, the Central Bank of Kenya under the leadership of Dr. Patrick Njoroge has been instrumental in the formulation of this and other measures across the financial sector which have resulted in significant gains in the form of the ongoing economic recovery,” the CEO said.

He added, “As guided by the Central Bank of Kenya and taking into account the Principles on the Pricing of Mobile Money Services, we have taken the decision to reduce our M-PESA tariffs by up to 45% for lower value transaction bands”.

 It will now cost Sh6 to send between Sh101 and Sh500, down from Sh11.

Transactions of between Sh1,501 and Sh2,500 will cost Sh32 down from Sh41.

“All transactions of Sh100 and below will remain free. In addition, all Mpesa customers will continue to enjoy free transactions between Mpesa and bank accounts,” Ndegwa said.

According to him, the price cuts are permanent, effective 1st January 2021 and will enable more than 26.8 million customers to continue enjoying lower costs whenever they send money.

“Our new, reduced tariffs will equally apply to transactions for micro-Businesses under our new Pochi La Biashara service, and for Lipa Na M-PESA businesses using the Transacting Till to make payments,” he said.

He said the maximum a customer transact daily or hold in Mpesa account is Sh300,000.

“As part of our Customer Obsession strategy, we maintain our commitment to continue to introduce new measures and innovations that meet the needs of our customers,” he said.