Safaricom in bid to boost uptake of Lipa na M-PESA

Safaricom’s Lipa Na M-PESA has emerged as the most preferred method of making payments without money among customers in Kenya. According to a study conducted by McKinsey, nine out of 10 payments are still made in cash. However, McKinsey study shows cashless services like Safaricom’s Lipa na M-PESA have overtaken the volume of transactions registered through debit and credit cards as well as other mobile money propositions. There are more than 32,000 active merchants on Lipa Na M-PESA platform. “It is not lost on us that 94 per cent of transactions in Kenya are in cash and we feel that there is an immense opportunity for the number of cashless transactions to grow,” said Betty Mwangi, General Manager, Financial Services, Safaricom. Yesterday, Safaricom launched an eight-week consumer and merchant promotion to encourage the use of M-PESA for retail transactions. During the promotion, Safaricom will reward one customer each week with a fully furnished house valued at Sh12 million. Consumers will also win Sh32 million in cash and 16 million in airtime.