The waiver of fees on mobile-money transfers below Ksh. 1,000 to cease from January 1 2021

The waiver of fees on mobile-money transfers below Ksh. 1,000 is to cease from January 1, the Central Bank of Kenya has said.

A statement released on today indicated that charges for transfers between banks and mobile will remain.

“Following consultations with Payment Service Providers (PSPs), CBK will allow the emergency measures to expire on December 31, 2020, and PSPs will introduce revised pricing structures from January 1, 2021,” the Central Bank said.

CBK however noted that there will be no charge for person-to-person transfers of up to Ksh. 100 to any customer and network.

In addition, there will be no charges for transfers between mobile money wallets and bank accounts.

To facilitate the integration of Savings and Credit Societies (SACCOs) with the mobile money ecosystem, CBK said entities regulated by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) may levy a charge for transfers between SACCO accounts and mobile money wallets.

On March 16, 2020, the CBK announced emergency measures to facilitate increased use of mobile money transactions instead of cash, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measures ran until June 30, 2020, and were extended until December 31, 2020, after a review.

CBK headquarters.