CBK brings back charges on transfers between banks and mobile-money accounts
The
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has reintroduced charges on transactions between mobile
money wallets and bank accounts which had been waived on March 16 2020.
The
charges are set to be restored from January 1, 2023, and follow discussions and
lobbying between the CBK, banks and payment service providers with the latter
two groups pushing for the fees return.
The
payment service providers (PSPs) and banks have nevertheless agreed to revise the maximum charges on the transactions following consultations with the CBK.
The
revised maximum charges for transfers from bank accounts to mobile money
wallets will be reduced by an average of 61 per cent while the inverse (mobile
wallets to bank accounts) charges will fall by an average of 47 per cent.
Tariffs for paybills used to collect and disburse funds by businesses, companies and institutions such as schools and utilities will meanwhile be reduced by an average of 50 per cent.
At
the same time, charges levied by banks for bank-to-mobile money transactions
will be reduced by a mean of 45 per cent.
“The
revised charges for bank-to-wallet and wallet-to-bank transactions will be
announced by respective payment service providers (PSPs) and banks and will be effective
from January 1, 2023,” the CBK stated.
CBK
has credited the waiver of the charges which was prompted by the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic with the expansion of the payments eco-system.
For
instance, the number of Kenyans using mobile money increased by over 6.2
million while the monthly volume and value of person-to-person (P2P)
transactions increased from 162 million transactions worth Ksh.234 billion to
440 million transactions valued at Ksh.399 billion.
The
monthly volume and value of transactions between PSPs and banks meanwhile increased
from 18 million transactions worth Ksh.157 billion to over 113 million
transactions worth Ksh.800 billion.
“This
outcome confirms that the mitigation measures were timely and effective, and
resulted in significant benefits across the financial system. The resumption of
revised charges is aimed at building on these gains, facilitate a transition
towards sustainable growth of the mobile money ecosystem, and ensuring
affordability of payment services for Kenyans,” added the CBK.
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