MOBILE MONEY | Safaricom M-PESA Deposits Surpass Most Kenyan Banks, Becomes Largest in Client Base

Kenyan telco, Safaricom, is one of the largest financial players in the country if the latest data is to go by.

According to an analysis by Business Daily, Safaricom’s customers are holding $1.84 billion ( KES 273.9) billion in deposits on its mobile money service, M-PESA.

This information was revealed in the telco’s financial statements for the half-year ending in September (HY2024). The funds held in its mobile money service, M-PESA, grew by $494 million ( KES 74.9 billion), reaching $1.84 billion ( KES 273.9 billion), compared to $1.3 billion ( KES 199 billion) at the end of March 2023.

 Safaricom MPESA HY24 resultsM-PESA now holds deposits amounting to nearly the same as Stanbic Bank Kenya, which held $1.88 billion (Sh272.9) billion as of the six months to June 2023. While other major banks like Equity Bank Kenya have a larger deposit base at $3.7 billion (Sh565.1 billion) and Co-operative Bank of Kenya at $2.9 billion (Sh447.6 billion), Safaricom’s M-PESA remains a significant player in the financial services landscape.

Still, M-PESA revenue in Kenya experienced a growth of 16.5 %, reaching $436.8 million ( KES 66.2 billion) in the half-year ending in September 2023. This figure dwarfs Equity Bank’s transaction-based revenue of $108.80 million (Sh16.5 billion) in the six months to June 2023.

Safaricom’s one-month active M-PESA customers grew by 3.1%, reaching 32.1 million in the half-year ending in September 2023. This positions Safaricom as the leading entity with the largest client base in the country.

In comparison:

• Equity Bank Kenya has more than 12 million customers
• Co-operative Bank has in excess of 5 million clients
• Stanbic Bank, which matches M-PESA in deposits, has fewer than one million customers

according to Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data.

In Kenya, the maximum mobile money account balance allowed by regulators is $3,299 ( KES 500,000), while banks have no upper limit on account balances. They therefore dominate corporate business and also hold cash for high-net-worth retail clients.

But Safaricom is dominant when it comes to smaller amounts of money. The telco also earns more on transactions compared to banks, with the cost of cash transfers and withdrawals on M-PESA, for instance, surpassing what the lenders charge.