Safaricom and banks are seeking a deal with central bank of Kenya to end free mobile money transactions.
Earlier this year banks were asked to waiver transaction charges that were made this year due to the pandemic. Now Safaricom and other banks are seeking to end the free transactions so that it doesn’t cross over to next year. Telcos and banks have been losing millions after the directive was extended from March to December 31st. The measure stated that there would be free transaction for anything less that KSh 1,000.
Measure meant to help Kenyans.
In a bid to curb the pandemic, CBK issues the directive in hopes that we would go cashless and also to cushion Kenyans during these hard times. Safaricom announced that they have lost 9 billion in the last 6 months which would officially be the first fall they have had in the last 9 years.
Safaricom’s CEO Peter Ndegwa said that they are not ready to announce anything yet:
“We are not ready at this stage to announce when the free cash transfers end as we are still in engagements with the CBK,”
KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara:
“We are having engagements with the CBK at the moment. We are optimistic that maybe some transactions will go back to where we were before and maybe others continue under the current waiver,”