I&M Bank scraps mobile money transaction charges

I&M Bank has announced a waiver of transaction charges from its digital banking platform I&M On The Go (OTG) to mobile money wallets.

The waiver will make I&M Bank the first lender in Kenya to officially offer zero fees for bank to M-Pesa and Airtel Money transactions following its reintroduction by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in January 2023.

The bank, during a press address held on Wednesday, also disclosed plans underway to waive transactions to T-Kash for Telkom users.

I&M’s General Manager for Digital Business, Michael Mwangi, stated: “As part of our approach to service delivery, recent customer feedback showed that as much as our transaction rates are favourable, there was an opportunity to review our policies on bank to mobile money wallet charges for the digitally active customer.

We believe this move will offer new and existing customers a huge relief during tough economic times and encourage more customers to transact on mobile.”

I&M Bank noted that transactions between digital banking systems and mobile money wallets significantly increased when the charges were waived in March 2020 as a measure to cushion Kenyans from the COVID-19 pandemic effects.

However, it added, the reintroduction of the charges by CBK, despite at reduced rates, has reportedly increased the cost of living for Kenyans.

In this regard, I&M Bank – in a statement sent to newsrooms – avers that by, introducing zero fees on bank to mobile money wallet transfers, then it is meeting consumer needs.

“A key focus for the bank since the launch of our current iMara 2.0 strategy is to enhance our digital banking solutions to meet the needs of our customers. We look forward to seeing these numbers grow with digital transactions gaining favour among our digitally active customers,” added Mr. Mwangi.