More Kenyans are taking to Mobile Money transfer as a preferred method of sending and receiving money in the country. According to Communication Commission of Kenya statistics for 3rd quarter of financial year 2011/12, the number of subscribers taking to this mode transacting has increased by close to 6,000 subscribers from the figure reported in the second quarter of 2012.
Cumulatively, as at 31st March 2012, there were 18.987 million mobile money transfer subscriptions from 18.981 million recorded during the previous period. This represents a marginal growth of 0.03% during the quarter and 9.1% growth over the same period the previous year.
According to CCK, the mobile money transfer service continues to create employment opportunities particularly for the unemployed population in the country. At the end of the 3rd quarter, there were 45,861 active mobile money transfer service agents compared to 47,997 recorded in the previous quarter. The decline was attributed to the reduction in the number of agents reported by mobile operator Airtel
CCK statistics show that the total deposits handled by mobile money transfer during the quarter grew by 4.8% from Ksh 176.8 billion recorded during the previous period to Ksh 185.4 billion during the 3rd quarter. This represented a 42.4% growth in the amount of deposits posted the same period last year. The deposits growth is an indication that the demand for the mobile money transfer service attributed to its convenience, ease of access, acceptability and as an instrument of financial inclusion for the unbanked population in the country.
Safaricom‘s mobile money transfer service M-Pesa saw its revenues grow 43% to Ksh 16.9 billion supported by a 6% growth in registered users to 14.9 million in the company’s financial results for the year 2011/12.