In 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) implemented a directive allowing for free money transfers from banks to mobile money wallets.
However, this was not well received by both banks and mobile money providers.
Late last year, the CBK announced plans to reintroduce charges for these transactions. They came into effect starting this year, but as usual, people were not happy about the development. The charges were also different for various banks, although the tariffs remained generally the same for all of them.
A couple of days ago, these fees were temporarily suspended by the High Court of Kenya following a petition filed by Moses Wafula.
The petition focused on the business relationship between Safaricom, the provider of M-PESA paybill services, and their clients, including banks, government agencies, and other institutions.
At that time, however, only a handful of banks adhered to the ruling, including NCBA and ABSA Kenya.
Now, these lenders have dropped charges for bank-to-mobile money transfers.
It is not clear if this will be the case for an extended period, or whether the case will be pursued further.
Still, only three outcomes will be expected: 1. the charges will be dropped forever. 2. the charges will be reinstated. 3. the charges will be reinstated with amended tariffs.
We will update you once we know more about this case.
