Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani is working on a proposal to cut M-pesa transfer fee on a move to lower Safaricom’s revenue rate.
Speaking during a senate presentation on Safaricom’s dominance, the CS noted that there was a need to make transaction costs cheaper considering the wide usage of mobile money platforms in Kenyan business.
Mr Yatani said the Treasury was aware of the concerns raised by both growing consumer and small business on M-Pesa transaction costs.
“Another concern with mobile money stems from the perception by both consumers and small businesses that digital technology leases are unfairly benefiting Safaricom Plc,” he said.
The move to review the charges will add to the challenge Safaricom is currently facing over its dominance, including a move to cut call rates and split M-Pesa as a separate company from the telecom service.
Recently, M-Pesa accounted for almost 99.9 per cent of the value of mobile money transactions which undermines the entrenchment of the platform in Kenya’s economy.
The Treasury noted that technology disaster affecting M-Pesa-dominated mobile transactions now poses a fiscal risk, making money transfer systems one of the other potential threats to the economy being closely watched by policy anger.