NAIROBI, Kenya
Kenya’s mobile-money market is entering a more competitive phase as Airtel Money steps up its challenge to Safaricom’s M-Pesa with lower transaction fees and new products targeting small businesses.
Safaricom remains the dominant player, controlling 88.8 percent of Kenya’s mobile-money subscriptions as of June 2026, compared with Airtel Money’s 11.1 percent.
But Airtel has significantly increased its market share over the past three years, rising from just 2.8 percent in June 2023.
Airtel Money recently introduced Bizna Wallet, aimed at small traders, and offered the service without transaction fees as it seeks to attract merchants away from established competitors.
The company has also reduced charges on several other transactions, including payments, bank transfers and transfers between mobile-money networks.
Safaricom has responded by reducing some M-Pesa charges and increasing the threshold for fee-free transactions on its Pochi la Biashara service.
The competition is significant because mobile money is a major source of revenue for Safaricom. In the financial year ended March 2026, M-Pesa revenue in Kenya rose 13.4 percent to Sh182.7 billion, accounting for 45.6 percent of Safaricom’s Kenyan revenue.
For consumers and small businesses, the emerging price competition could mean lower transaction costs and more choices.
For the two telecommunications companies, however, the battle is increasingly about more than mobile transfers. Digital payments, merchant services, banking partnerships and financial technology are becoming key battlegrounds in Kenya’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
Source: Business Daily Africa
photo: Courtesy
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