End of freebies as Airtel Money and Equitel end free money transfers

Airtel Money and Equitel subscribers will have to dig deeper into their e-wallets to continue enjoying the convenience of sending money using their mobile phones.

The two firms have introduced charges on services that they have been offering for free, ending a phase where they have been luring customers to their networks with the promise of free transactions.

Airtel subscribers have been using the mobile money service for free, including making person-to-person transfers as well as bill payments without having to worry about charges. Customers will now pay for sending anything above Sh100.

Imposition of charges on money transfer comes on the back of mobile money interoperability, a service launched earlier this month enabling users to send and receive money across networks.

Uniform charges

According to a tariff guide published by Airtel Kenya, customers will pay uniform charges to send money across all networks. Users will spend between Sh7 and Sh66 to send between Sh101 and Sh70,000.

Equitel, the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) owned by Equity Bank, has been offering a free on-net money transfer service. It has also not been charging users to pay utility bills.

The operator will, however, charge subscribers Sh30 to transfer anything between a shilling and Sh300,000.

“Sending money on-net is no longer free,” says an Equitel notice to customers, which adds that payment of utility bills will also attract charges.

The new charges for the mobile money subscribers on the two networks could put a damper on interoperability that was expected to help in growing the mobile money industry that has been credited for deepening access to financial services.