M-Pesa transactions increased by 16.1 percent for the third quarter ended December 2021, strengthening Safaricom’s revenue portfolio.
“Our M-Pesa platform, including Safaricom, continues to scale at an impressive rate with transaction values up to 16.1 percent to exceed Ksh.3.2 trillion per month,“ said Vodacom in its third-quarter results.
M-pesa has over 51.3 million users across Africa and is available in countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) through subsidiaries owned by Vodacom.
The company had waivered transaction charges against amounts not more than Ksh.1000 on March 16, 2020, to cushion Kenyans from harsh economic times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This, was, however, reinstated on December 31, 2021, after the telco received a nod from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
Safaricom’s M-Pesa revenue surged 48.5 percent to record a whooping Ksh.13 trillion up from Ksh.9 trillion.
The surge in revenue was anchored on the M-Pesa App, which was launched on June 23, 2021, that saw over four million Kenyans download the App.
Safaricom launched M-Pesa App on the back of the heightened COVID-19 pandemic and was seen as the telco’s strategy to beat the pandemic challenges to increase its revenue bracket.
“Beyond the economy recovering and us getting back to charging, there has been a significant focus on innovation. We have for instance recently launched the M-Pesa application which has already seen four million downloads in three to four months,” said Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa.
The telco is expected to announce its results for the full year ending March in mid-May.
