Wanjiru Kimani
March 17, 2020
Safaricom has become the first player in the mobile money business to cut prices following a request from President Uhuru Kenyatta.
On Sunday, Mr Kenyatta asked banks and mobile money providers to consider reducing the cost of transactions to allow customers use cashless modes of payment as part of measures to stop transmission of Covid-19, widely known as new coronavirus.
Safaricom said on Monday that it would like to thank Central Bank Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge for hosting a meeting with the telecommunications industry players to discuss the evolving situation around the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The meeting follows the directive by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta to explore ways of deepening mobile money usage to reduce the risk of spreading the virus through the physical handling of cash,” the firm’s chief executive Michael Joseph said in a statement.
“The President also directed that we consider reducing the cost of using mobile money during this period,” he added.
In the meeting, it was agreed that all person-to-person transactions below Sh1,000 shall be free.
