A collaboration between Google and Airtel Money now allows Airtel Money users in Kenya to pay for Google Play content directly from their wallets. Kenyans now have an additional payment method for accessing premium features on online applications.
At the partnership’s official announcement, Airtel Money MD Anne Kinuthia-Otieno emphasized Kenya’s strong mobile money economy, stating that the collaboration aims to provide users with choice and convenience across various payment options.
Google Play is Google’s official digital distribution platform for Android, allowing users to browse, download, and purchase various digital content, including apps, games, books, movies, and music.
With the growth of online streaming, especially on TikTok, Kenyans have been making more in-app purchases that go via Google Play. According to TikTok’s advertising data, the platform boasted 15.1 million users aged 18 and over in Kenya as of early 2025.
Airtel Money is making more efforts to grow its market share. In the year ending September 2024, the mobile money service experienced significant market share growth, increasing from 2.9% to 7.6%.
Free Airtel Money transfers have been the biggest driver for this growth. This strategy persists as payments for Google Play applications through Airtel Money will also not attract any transaction fees.
Airtel, the parent company, currently has a 29.5% share of the market in Kenya. This was reached after a period of significantly faster growth, exemplified by their addition of 1.8 million SIM subscriptions in the past year.
