Kenya mobile money transfer hits Sh2.3 trillion

Kenyans transacted Sh2.3 trillion ($23 billion) on mobile money in the period leading to October, a rise of Sh408 billion ($4 billion) from a similar period last year, latest data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows.

The 10-month transactions, which are equal to what the nation’s citizens transacted in the entire 2014, indicate the country is set to break a new record on use of mobile money this year. The country holds the global record on mobile money use, which has made the country to offer lessons to other nations on the use of technology.

Kenyan citizens use mobile money to pay bills, loans, save, transfer money from their bank accounts, pay school fees and public transport vehicles fare. Mobile money is, therefore, at the heart of every transactions Kenyans make, stifling the use of plastic money, though cash is still the king.

During the 10 months, according to the CBK data, the highest transaction was recorded in October, where Sh256 billion ($2.51 billion) was moved via the mobile phone. This was the first time in the history of the technology that such amount of money has been transacted on the phone in the East African nation.

On the other hand, the lowest transaction was recorded in February, where about Sh209 billion ($2.04 billion) was moved.