•The trend comes as the use of hard currency continues to be discouraged in the fight against the spread of Covid-19.
•A report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows mobile money transactions in the first six months of 2020 increased to Sh2.144 trillion from Sh2.136 trillion in 2019. Customers queue outside an M-Pesa shop in Nairobi Kenya is among key drivers of global mobile money transactions, a report by global firm-GSMA indicates, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to push up digital payment trends.
The GSMA Consumer Survey 2020 shows approximately one in five consumers in Kenya and Mozambique purchase products such as food, clothes and other items via mobile money as a direct result of Covid-19, with hard-cash is being discouraged.
Mobile money has been significant in delivering vital financial support and providing safe, no-contact ways to pay for food, electricity and other life essentials during the Covid-19 pandemic, the report notes.
The ‘State of the Industry Report’ by GSMA indicates the number of registered accounts in 2020 grew by 12.7 per cent globally to 1.21 billion accounts – double the forecasted growth rate.
More than $2 billion (Sh219.6 billion) is being transacted per day with mobile money becoming a new part of the daily routine for millions around the world. We see that mobile money is a powerful tool for expanding the financial inclusion of women in low- and middle-income countries Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) data shows that mobile money transactions in the first six months of2020 increased to Sh2.144 trillion from Sh2.136 trillion recorded in the same period in 2019.
During the period, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) instituted several measures in the financial markets, among them removal of charges on mobile money transactions to cushion low-income consumers.
An additional 2.8 million people were added into the mobile money ecosystem last year, according to CBK data, with the monthly volume of person-to-person transactions increasing 87 per cent between February and October.
The pandemic was a catalyst for regulatory institutions to make decisions and implement measures in countries such as Kenya and Ghana, the report notes.
In 2020, mobile money-enabled merchant payments grew in all dimensions – volume, value and merchant activity, globally.
The value of mobile money merchant payments grew by 43 per cent, compared to 28 per cent in 2019.This has resulted in over $2.3 billion (Sh252.5 billion) transacted per month on average in 2020.Meanwhile, the number of merchant payments increased […]
