The Kenyan government is planning to significantly lower mobile money fees by about 57% through its upcoming National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2025 to 2028. The goal is to reduce the average cost of a mobile money transaction from KES 23 to KES 10.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is driving these reforms, recognizing that high transaction costs remain a barrier to financial inclusion, especially in rural areas.
In some cases, the cost of transferring money can reach nearly 7% of the transfer value, discouraging low-income users from engaging with digital financial platforms.
A central feature of the strategy is the introduction of peer-to-peer caps on transaction fees to bring prices down. At the same time, the plan calls for the rollout of a national Fast Payment System.
This system would enable instant, 24/7 transfers between banks, mobile wallets, and microfinance institutions. The CBK also plans to use open API standards to encourage innovation, apply blockchain and AI in financial services, and connect Kenya’s digital identity system with financial accounts to simplify onboarding and reduce fraud.
The draft NFIS is built on six key pillars, namely:
- Expanding access through more agents and wider mobile coverage
- Improving affordability and interoperability
- Strengthening consumer protection and financial literacy
- Promoting innovation and cybersecurity
- Tailoring credit and insurance to rural areas
- Ensuring inclusion of women, youth, persons with disabilities, informal sector workers, small businesses, and displaced populations
If implemented, the CBK expects formal financial inclusion to rise to more than 90% of adult Kenyans by 2028. These reforms could change Kenya’s mobile money ecosystem.
Safaricom’s M-Pesa, which controls about 91% of the market and generated KES 161.1 billion in revenue in 2025, may face pressure on its fee-based earnings. This could push it to expand further into lending, savings, and merchant services.
Competitors such as Airtel Money and newer fintech firms could also benefit as lower transaction costs and better interoperability reduce pricing monopolies.
