Airtel Kenya’s cell cash service, Airtel Cash, grew its market share from 2.9% to 7.6% within the 12 months to September 2024. The expansion was fuelled by free Airtel-to-Airtel transfers, decrease charges than Safaricom’s M-PESA for sending cash throughout networks, and cheaper withdrawal costs. 

Over the identical interval, M-PESA’s market share declined from 97.0% to 92.3%, with Airtel Cash steadily consuming into its dominance, as soon as reaching 98%, based on the info by trade regulator the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA). 

With over 40 million cell cash customers in Kenya, affordability has turn into a key issue for Kenyans when selecting how one can transact. “Subscriptions to cell cash companies elevated from 39.8 million to 40.6 million, translating to a penetration price of 78.9% in the course of the reference interval,” the CA mentioned in an announcement. 

In 2020, Airtel Cash eradicated costs for Airtel-to-Airtel transfers in an try to develop its market share. Sending KES 1,000 ($7.7) to different networks prices KES 11 on Airtel Cash, in comparison with M-PESA’s KES 13 ($0.093), whereas withdrawing the identical quantity prices KES 29 ($0.22) on Airtel Cash—KES 2 lower than M-PESA. 

Airtel Cash has additionally expanded entry factors to handle previous issues about its restricted agent community. In 2024, it partnered with grocery store chain Naivas to extend its agent community. 

The Central Financial institution of Kenya (CBK) has pushed for full cell cash interoperability for unrestricted transactions throughout networks. 

Whereas progress has been made—prospects can ship cash between networks and make interoperable utility and enterprise funds—agent interoperability stays unrealised, regardless of CBK’s pledge to implement it by 2024. This lacking factor, which might enable customers to entry companies at any agent no matter their supplier, retains the ecosystem incomplete and sustains the dominance of bigger gamers like M-PESA. 

By September 2024, the general cell cash company community had grown to over 365,000 brokers, up from 347,700.

Airtel Cash’s adoption has additionally been supported by CBK’s 2024 resolution to extend the transaction day by day restrict cap from KES 300,000 ($2322) to KES 500,000 ($3870) to draw high-value prospects and companies. Prospects can preserve funds obtained from different wallets for over per week, eliminating the earlier requirement to withdraw or have the cash despatched again to the sender.