Kenya: Safaricom’s M-PESA Slips Again as Airtel Money Gains Ground

Safaricom’s M-PESA continues to face mounting competition in Kenya’s mobile money sector, recording its fifth consecutive quarterly decline in market share as rival Airtel Money accelerates its growth through aggressive pricing strategies and expanding agent networks.

According to new data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), M-PESA’s share fell by 2.3 percentage points to 91% in Q4 2024, down from 93.3% the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Airtel Money’s market share increased to 8.9%, up from 7.6%, signalling a steady shift in consumer preferences amid greater service interoperability.

The changes underscore how regulatory reforms introduced in 2022—particularly mobile money interoperability—have reshaped Kenya’s financial landscape, making it easier for users to transact across providers and consider alternative platforms.

Lower transaction costs remain a core factor in Airtel Money’s appeal. For example, sending KES 1,000 ($7.70) to another network costs KES 11 ($0.085) on Airtel, compared to KES 13 ($0.093) on M-PESA. Withdrawals are also cheaper by KES 2, further enhancing Airtel’s value proposition.

The CA’s Q4 sector report notes that mobile money subscriptions grew by 4.1% to 42.3 million, driving a national penetration rate of 82.1%. Much of this new user growth appears to favour Airtel Money, which has been actively onboarding customers through promotions, including airtime cashback on transactions.

In addition, Airtel’s partnership with major retail chains such as Naivas has improved its cash-in and cash-out accessibility, positioning the operator as a credible challenger to M-PESA’s expansive footprint of over 160,000 agents.

Despite the momentum, M-PESA remains the dominant player, serving over 34 million users and facilitating more than 30 billion transactions valued at approximately KES 40 trillion ($308.8 billion). In contrast, Airtel Money currently serves an estimated eight million registered users, but the growth trajectory suggests its influence is expanding.

A key factor that may further level the playing field is the Central Bank of Kenya’s long-awaited agent-level interoperability framework, which would allow customers to transact at any mobile money agent regardless of their provider. Although slated for rollout by 2024, implementation is still pending.

Additionally, the CBK’s Fast Payment System (FPS)—designed to enable real-time money transfers across all financial institutions, including banks and fintechs—is expected to debut soon. The FPS could significantly erode M-PESA’s legacy advantage by standardising payment speed and convenience across platforms.

As regulatory infrastructure modernises and competition intensifies, market dynamics are shifting. M-PESA’s dominance, while still significant, is no longer unchallenged.