Airtel Money has expanded its market share in Kenya to 7.6% in the quarter ending September 2024, up from 6.6% in June, while market leader M-Pesa’s share declined to 92.3% from 93.4%, marking M-Pesa’s lowest share since reporting began in September 2022.
The shift occurred during a period of overall growth in mobile money subscriptions, which reached a record high of 40.6 million users with a 78.9% penetration rate, while registered mobile money agents increased by 5.1% to 365,432.
Airtel Money’s growth is attributed to strategic initiatives including a partnership with Naivas supermarket chain for agent services and regulatory changes such as increased daily transaction limits to Sh500,000.
The company also removed restrictions on withdrawal time-frames for received funds in February 2024, aligning with the Central Bank of Kenya’s National Payments Strategy 2022-2025 to enhance mobile money interoperability.