Kenya’s leading operator Safaricom says it has increased account limits on its wildly popular M-Pesa mobile money service to KSh500,000 (about US$3,477) following approval from the Central Bank of Kenya.
The higher account limit was effective from 15 August 2023, for all M-Pesa customers.
In addition to the higher account limit, M-Pesa customers are also set to enjoy an increased daily transaction limit of KSh500,000 per day. The current per transaction limits of KSh150,000 (about US$1,043) will remain. However, customers can make as many transactions up to the daily limit as they wish.
Safaricom suggests the move is set to be a boost for businesses in the country, especially SMEs, as the share of cashless transactions continues to rise. In the last financial year to March 2023, more than 606,000 businesses were receiving payments through Lipa Na M-Pesa, with a total of KSh1.625 trillion (about US$11. 3 billion) transacted in the 12 months.
M-Pesa transaction limits were previously increased in March 2020 when the Central Bank of Kenya approved the doubling of transaction limits to KSh150,000 and daily and account limits to KSh300,000.
Of the new limits, Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom, says: “We appreciate the role that the Central Bank of Kenya has played by constantly providing guidance on innovations and protections that we have put in place to strengthen M-Pesa’s adherence to KYC, anti-money laundering and other financial regulations and safeguards. The increased account limits will provide customers and especially small businesses with increased convenience as the share of cashless transactions continues to rise.”
