Safaricom has announced plans to launch M-PESA Junior Accounts for young Kenyans between the age of 10 to 18 years. These are individuals who do not have IDs to register a Safaricom line but have access to the network via SIM cards registered under their guardians or parents.
The development was revealed today by Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa during the presentation of the full-year results that ended March 2022.
“We plan to soon launch an M-PESA Junior Product for our children who may have access to mobile phones,” said CEO Ndegwa.
The carrier’s mobile money product is its leading profit-making venture as it has been for the last couple of years. Over the period under review, for instance, M-PEESA revenues grew by 38.3 percent to KES 107.7 billion.
The growth is thanks to the end of free money transfers for amounts under KES 1000 that were introduced by the CBK at the height of the pandemic. The carrier adds that business activity has also been conducive for M-PESA thanks to the said reason, as well as the opening of the economy after the President lifted the COVID-19 curfew towards the end of 2021.
Circling back to M-PESA Junior, Safaricom says that the product should go live sometime before June elapses.
Kenya has been tightening its grip on SIM card registration over the last couple of weeks. Customers are being advised to re-confirm details about their SIM cards as regulators and telcos move towards stamping out illegal activities involving fraudulently registered SIM cards.
Children can also have SIM cards too, but they have to be registered using their parents’ or guardians’ identification documents.
Safaricom has not revealed additional details on how the M-PESA Junior accounts will work, but we will update you as soon as we get additional information.
PS: the product is subject to regulatory approval.
