Safaricom has launched a promotion dubbed “Maisha Ni M-PESA Tu” that is aimed at rewarding Safaricom subscribers who use the company’s mobile money service for any transaction. The promotion has also been extended to include M-Pesa agents, in a move that seeks to encourage customers to continue using the service.
The loyalty points will be rewarded for all transactions on M-Pesa, that is, sending money and receiving money, bank to M-PESA transactions and Lipa Na M-PESA. M-Pesa customers will earn 10 points for every Kes.100 transacted and M-Pesa agents will earn one point for every Kes.100 deposited.
The promotion, which runs for ten weeks from June 18, 2018, will see seven of the 28.6 million M-Pesa customers stand a chance to win one apartment each. The agents will also stand a chance to win one of eight grand prizes of Kes.1 million in cash. Additionally, both customers and agents will stand to win more than Kes.300 million through weekly prizes. All M-PESA customers who participate in the promotion will have the chance to redeem their points for data, voice minutes or SMS.
Increased Excise Tax
Kenya’s mobile money market is under threat as the country’s Finance Minister, Henry Rotich, proposed an increase in excise tax on mobile money transfers from 10% to 12%, a move that Safaricom says will negatively affect low-income earners in Kenya who rely on mobile money services for their day-to-day transactions. “It would be unfortunate to reverse the gains we have made in recent past through mobile-led financial inclusion,” said Sateesh Kamath, Safaricom, Chief Finance Officer.
If the proposed tax increase is passed by Parliament, Kenyans could be subjected to stiffer transaction charges, which could, in turn, see a majority of the population shun using mobile money services or opt for those without transaction charges or even worse, just revert to the use of cash.
