Banks To Lobby CBK To Restore Mobile Cash Transfer Fees

Banks are planning to lobby the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to restore charges on customers transfer of money from bank accounts to their mobile money wallets.

This comes after the lenders saw a reduction in fees and commissions levied on customers who transfer funds from their bank’s accounts to mobile money wallets.

The lenders’ lobby group, The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) have announced plans to push for the return of the charges next year due to the easing of Covid-19 effects in the Country.

“We may think of lobbying for a review next year if we are convinced that we are sufficiently out of the woods. 2021 was very unpredictable when we thought we had gotten out we saw new waves picking up, new restrictions being introduced and even now we do not know how the Omicron variant will turn out,” said Habil Olaka, the chief executive of KBA.

The Government introduced mobile phone payment reliefs in March last year to curb the spread of Coronavirus after the first case was reported. The government said avoiding the handling of cash could help contain the spread of the virus. The reliefs also included doubling the daily transaction limits to $2651.35 and the removal of charges on mobile to mobile money transfers that were less than $10.

According to CBK data, Kenyans moved $46.045 through their phones last year, an increase of 20% from 2019 when there were no relief measures on mobile phone payments. The restoration of bank to mobile wallet charges could see customers avoid the service as they seek for cheaper alternatives.