Airtel Money subscribers in Kenya will now enjoy a 100% refund on transaction fees as airtime when transferring money from their bank accounts to their Airtel Money wallets.
The move is part of Airtel Kenya’s strategy to expand its mobile money market share and attract more users to its platform.
Airtel Kenya’s Managing Director, Ashish Malhotra, said the refunded airtime will not expire, allowing customers to use it over time at their convenience.
The initiative builds on the telco’s ‘Rudishiwa Transaction Fee’ programme, launched in December 2023, which offered refunds of withdrawal charges as airtime to its customers.
“These launches underscore our continued efforts towards offering seamless solutions designed to meet the diverse communication needs of our customers, along with delivering exceptional value and convenience of staying connected throughout the month,” said Malhotra.
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Airtel’s Push to Strengthen Market Position
Airtel’s is pushing for efforts to grow its customer base and challenge market leader Safaricom M-Pesa’s dominance and aims to position itself as a cost-effective alternative.
Over the past year, Airtel Kenya has aggressively marketed its mobile money services through strategic partnerships and an expanded distribution network of agents.
According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), Airtel Money’s market share increased from 6.6% to 7.6% in September 2024, signaling growth momentum. Additionally, Airtel’s SIM card subscriptions stood at 29.6% between July and September last year.
Introduction of Smarta Bundles
In a further effort to offer value-driven services, Airtel Kenya recently launched ‘Smarta Bundles,’ a package designed to combine mobile data, voice, SMS, and Airtel Money benefits. The two available packages are priced at Ksh.1,000 and Ksh.1,500, with the Ksh.1,000 bundle offering 1GB of data per day and 3,000 Airtel-to-Airtel minutes over a 30-day period.
The telco aims to not only retain existing customers but also attract new users looking for cost-effective and convenient mobile services.
