Safaricom have waived fees for person to person M-PESA transactions below Ksh 1,000 , and increased daily transactions limits from Ksh 70,000 to Ksh 150,000.
M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone for Safaricom and Vodacom, the largest mobile network operators in Kenya and Tanzania. It has since expanded to Afghanistan, South Africa, India and in 2014 to Romania and in 2015 to Albania.
Kenyans have been urged to use mobile money to avoid the risk of coronavirus spread.
President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier asked mobile money agencies to reduce transaction fees as more citizens avoid handling physical cash.
Public health experts believe the novel coronavirus, which causes the potentially deadly COVID-19 disease, is transmittable through “fomites” — surfaces, including paper money, that have been handled by an infected person.
Airtel Money is also working on reducing transaction fees for their customers.
STATEMENT FROM SAFARICOM
