Central Bank of Kenya Extends its COVID-19 Emergency Mobile Money Measures

The Central Bank of Kenya announced that it will extend the measures placed on mobile money transactions put forth back in March.

Charges for mobile money transactions of up to KES1000 ($9,39) and the withdrawal of money between bank accounts and mobile money wallets.

These emergency measures were put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in Kenya. The initial announcement had the measures in place until 1 July 2020, but now the Central Bank is increasing the duration of the measures by 5 months until the end of the year, 31 December 2020.

The Central Bank of Kenya says that in line with these measures:

• There will be no charge for mobile money transactions up to KES1000.
• The current tariff for transactions above KES70,000 will remain.
• There will be no charge by Payment Service Providers (PSPs) and commercial banks for transfers between mobile money wallets and bank accounts.

“A significant increase in the use of mobile money channels by individuals in both value and number of transactions was noted. Most of the increase was in low-value transactions of KES1000 or less,” reads a statement from the Bank.

“This band accounts for over 80% of mobile money transactions and charges were eliminated, which has helped cushion the most vulnerable households. Moreover, more than 1.6 million additional customers are now using mobile money channels.”

Unfortunately, the institute says, business-related transactions have declined marginally.

TechWeez writes that the Central Bank implemented these measures in March to increase the use of mobile money transactions instead of cash, as it facilitates social distancing. In its own words, the bank says that these measures were “timely and highly effective in facilitating official and personal transfers at a time of great need.”