Mobile payments nearly hit Sh3.64 trillion last year translating to a daily average of Sh9.97 billion, reflecting rising settlements via mobile phones. Mobile cash transfers in December touched a record Sh332.62 billion, a growth of Sh33.66 billion compared with November as business activities started to pick up after months of heightened political tension. Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the telecoms regulator, in a quarterly report late December said mobile payments are now being driven more by mobile commerce than Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions. The value of M-commerce transactions between July and September 2017, for example, jumped 60 per cent year-on-year compared with P2P cash transfers that rose 14.7 per cent, the CA report showed without disclosing the actual numbers. The latest driver of M-commerce is the growing demand for instant low-value unsecured mobile loans.

Source: Daily Nation February 12, 2018 06:33 UTC