Telecom regulator wants increased competition in money transfer business
Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) has said it will not reverse its decision to allow Equity Bank to introduce mobile money transfer services despite protests from integrated communications service provider, Safaricom . The commission’s Chairman Ngene Gituku said that three other financial institutions have been given a nod to introduce similar services
” CAK is keen to resolve the stand-off between Safaricom and Equity Bank over the latter’s use of embedded SIM cards for mobile money transfer services but ruled out reversing its decision to allow competition in the electronic money transfer sector,” Gituku said. Read more
Analyst says Equity Bank’s ultra-slim SIMs are secure
Frost & Sullivan consultant Lawrence Lundy has revealed that the concerns about the safety of Equity Bank’s planned use of ultra-slim SIM cards in Kenya are unjustified.
“The market dynamics in Kenya are unique, as Safaricom, a mobile operator, is the market leader in mobile money with M-Pesa. The ultra-slim SIM is Equity Bank’s strategy to capture market share in the lucrative mobile money market, where customers use a vast array of financial services such as loans, cross-border payments, and point-of-sale payments,” he added. Read more of the story here
Kenyan shilling reverses earlier session gains, while stocks go up slightly
Commercial banks quoted the Kenyan shilling at 88.60/70 to the dollar on Monday, the same as Friday’s close, after it gained briefly during the session before reversing those gains. During the session it touched 88.30/40 to the dollar before reversing the gains. Traders said the central bank mopped up 5.93 billion shillings earlier in the session, but this had little impact on the local currency. It had sought to mop up 8 billion shillings. “I still think (dollar) supply is the issue,” Julius Kiriinya, trader at African Banking Corporation, said.
On the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the main NSE-20 Share Index was up by 8.48 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 5,168.80 points. On the secondary market, government bonds worth a total 1.38 billion shillings were traded compared with 1.6 billion shillings on Friday. Read more of the story here
M-KOPA Solar and Safaricom launch an upgraded lighting system
M-KOPA Solar has launched a Safaricom-branded solar lighting system, as it steps up its campaign to provide clean lighting solutions to millions of homes that are not on the electricity grid. The M-KOPA III is M-Kopa Solar’s third-generation pay as-you-go solar home solution. It comes with two LED solar lights and one solar rechargeable LED torch, and a larger 8W panel that gives 60 percent more charging capacity. Customers will also get a solar rechargeable radio, mobile phone charger and a larger battery. Read more
Watch the skies over Nairobi
Kenya Airways is preparing for the arrival later this week of their fifth B787-8 Dreamliner, now just one short of the delivery target of six such aircraft this calendar year. Read more