Airtel, I&M partner to increase financial inclusion

Airtel, and I&M Bank have formed a partnership to increase access to mobile financial service and financial inclusion. This is in support of the government’s efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the country and promote a cashless economy.

The initiative will link Airtel Money users who are also I&M Bank account holders’ mobile money wallets to their bank accounts. This means that they can “pull” money from their bank accounts into their Airtel Money wallets or “push” money from their Airtel Money wallets to the I&M Bank accounts automatically.

“With a dynamic industry and stiff competitive environment, the customer is seeking more choice in mobile banking. At I&M Bank we take pride in continually innovating banking solutions for our customers because innovation is one of our key pillars for business,” noted Arun Mathur, I&M Bank CEO.

“The Bank has continued to reap benefits from the industry trend on technology convergence between the banking sector and the telco industry. We are therefore proud to partner with Airtel Kenya to offer Airtel Money services on I&Mobile, our mobile banking platform,” he concluded.

The new Airtel Money service will offer 2 types of real-time funds transfers as described below; transfer of money from I&M Bank Account to Airtel Money (B2C) and transfer funds from Airtel Money to I&M Bank account (C2B).

“Airtel Money continues to play a vital role in changing the way customers access financial services with convenience and at affordable rates. The partnership with I&M Bank will strengthen our ongoing efforts to improve access to financial services for our customers. Our aim is to deliver simple and innovative solutions that make it easy for our customers to bank, send and receive money in a secure, fast and convenient way at lower rates that also saves them money in comparison to other available alternatives,” said Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi.

To enjoy the B2C service, an I&M account holder will be required to dial *458#  from their Airtel Money registered  number, enter their Login PIN, reply with option number four (Mobile Money), select Airtel Money, enter recipient’s mobile number (registered on Airtel money) , enter amount to send, select the transacting  Bank account, confirm the transaction and submit.

The beneficiary will receive Airtel Money credit alert. Your will also receive transaction alert from I&M Bank. This service can also be enjoyed from the I&M mobile banking app.

To enjoy C2B services, the customer will go to the Airtel money option, select make payments, pay bill, other, they will then input the  I&M Bank pay bill number 542542, enter amount to transfer, their pin then on reference they will enter their 14 digits I&M account number and submit, the customer will then receive a confirmation message from Airtel money confirming the successful transaction.

The minimum transaction amount is Ksh. 100 while the maximum amount per single transaction is Ksh. 70,000. Cumulative limit for daily transactions is Ksh. 140,000. To push money to their I&M account from Airtel Money wallet, a customer will be charged a flat fee of Ksh.30 per transaction while  pull money from an I&M Bank account to their Airtel Money wallet they will be charged a flat rate of Ksh.35.