Safaricom has slashed charges on transferring funds from business tills to mobile wallets and Paybill numbers by as much as 50 per cent, in a shake-up of M-Pesa tariffs that promises significant relief for small traders and consumers alike.
Under the new regime, effective 7 August 2026, businesses using Safaricom's M-Pesa business till — a dedicated account that allows merchants to receive customer payments — will pay substantially less when moving cash from those tills to their personal M-Pesa wallets or using it to pay bills through the Paybill service, which allows businesses to receive or send bulk payments to corporate accounts.
The changes align with Central Bank of Kenya's pricing principles on customer-centricity, transparency and affordability, Safaricom said. The changes come as households across the country grapple with stubborn inflation that held at 6.5 per cent in July.
The most significant relief comes under the revised Pay to Mobile tariff, which governs transfers from a business till to any M-Pesa registered mobile number — essentially allowing traders to withdraw their daily collections into their personal accounts.
For transfers of Sh101-500, the fee drops to Sh4 from Sh7 — a 43 per cent reduction. For Sh501-1,000, the charge falls to Sh7 from Sh13, nearly halving the cost. Larger transfers of Sh1,501-2,500 now cost Sh17, down from Sh33, while Sh15,001-20,000 transfers drop sharply to Sh53 from Sh105 — a 49.5 per cent cut.
For Pay to Paybill transfers — which allow businesses to pay utility bills, suppliers or other corporate accounts directly from their till — fees have also been significantly reduced.
Transfers of Sh101-500 fall to Sh3 from Sh4, while Sh501-1,000 drops to Sh10 from Sh12. Sh1,501-2,500 transfers decline to Sh25 from Sh27, and larger amounts up to Sh250,000 now attract a flat fee of Sh52, down from Sh54.
For the smallest transactions, the first Sh100 in both Pay to Mobile and Pay to Paybill transfers remain completely free, preserving access for micro-entrepreneurs.
Businesses receiving customer payments through Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods — the service that allows shoppers to pay for goods directly at retail outlets using M-Pesa — will also benefit from lower costs.
The free collection threshold — the amount a merchant can receive without paying any fee — has been doubled to Sh500, up from Sh200, meaning traders no longer pay any charge on the majority of small-ticket retail purchases. Collections above Sh500 will continue to attract a fee of 0.55 per cent, capped at Sh200.
This change is expected to ease the burden on millions of informal retailers — from vegetable vendors to hardware shops — who rely on mobile money for daily sales.
For Pochi la Biashara merchants — a service similar to Lipa na M-Pesa that allows small businesses to accept payments via a till number without needing a physical point-of-sale device — a 90-day promotional period beginning 1 August 2026 and running through 31 October will waive charges on customer payments up to Sh200.
For transactions above that threshold, tiered fees — charges that increase in steps based on the transaction value — apply up to a maximum amount of Sh250,000. The full tariff schedule is available on Safaricom's website.
"We are introducing revised tariffs for Pochi la Biashara and Lipa na M-PESA Buy Goods to make digital payments more affordable and support the growth of businesses across Kenya," Safaricom said in a notice to customers. The company noted the changes were introduced "while aligning with the Central Bank of Kenya's pricing principles on customer-centricity, transparency, fairness, competition and affordability."
The M-Pesa fee reductions will be closely watched by policymakers and consumers. With inflation holding at 6.5 per cent in July and the Ruto administration facing mounting pressure over the cost of living with just under 14 months to go before the next general election, any relief on digital transaction costs is likely to be welcomed by cash-strapped households.
M-PESA, the world's largest mobile money system, processed transactions worth Sh41.68 trillion in the year to March — equivalent to 2.4 times the size of Kenya's economy — and generated Sh182.7 billion in revenue for Safaricom. The platform has driven financial inclusion — the proportion of adults with access to formal financial services — to 83.7 per cent of Kenya's adult population, up from just 26.7 per cent in 2006.
Safaricom says it keeps over 72 million customers connected across Kenya and Ethiopia.
