Healthy business competition among telco companies between Airtel and Safaricom is evident after Airtel has more than tripled the daily transaction limits on its mobile money platform Airtel Money, coming just a day after dominant rival Safaricom received regulatory approval to effect similar changes.
Airtel said effective Tuesday, customers would be allowed to deal Sh500,000 daily up from the previous limit of Sh300,000 while the limit per transaction was retained at Sh150,000.
“The daily transaction limit will increase from the current Sh300,000 to Sh500,000. The limit per transaction will remain at Sh150,000 and customers can transact multiple times up to the limit of Sh500,000 daily,” said the telco in a statement on Tuesday.
The development followed the issuance of approval by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
Kenya’s second largest telco has also allowed individuals and businesses to hold half a million shillings in their mobile wallets up from Sh300,000 allowed previously as mobile money evolves from person-to-person payments to an e-commerce tool.
Airtel Money Managing Director Anne Kinuthia hailed the move saying that increasing the daily transaction limit would benefit a wide range of customers who subscribe to the service, as well as support the growth of the digital economy in the country.
“We are elated about the CBK’s decision as this change will significantly empower our customers and partners by providing them with the flexibility to conduct larger transactions and manage their finances more effectively,” said Kinuthia.
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“Businesses can now conduct their operations more conveniently, efficiently, and consumers can access a wider range of goods and services contributing to economic growth, job creation, and improved financial stability in Kenya.”
The regulatory nod comes as a boost to the firm which has recently embarked on an aggressive expansion drive, recently announcing that it had tripled its number of mobile money agents in the country and targets to close at 120,000 agents as at the end of the year.
The increased mobile account limits are poised to give both Safaricom and Airtel a stronger footing to compete with commercial banks that have recently intensified their financial technology drives, especially in providing payment solutions.
