Airtel Money, Airtel Kenya’s mobile money service, has made significant strides in the Kenyan market. Between September 2023 and September 2024, its market share grew from 2.9% to 7.6%.

This impressive growth can be attributed to Airtel Money’s customer-friendly features, such as free transfers between Airtel users, lower fees for cross-network transactions, and cheaper withdrawal charges.

In contrast, M-PESA, the dominant mobile money service in Kenya, saw its market share decline from 97% to 92.3% during the same period. According to data from the Communications Authority of Kenya, Airtel Money has been steadily chipping away at M-PESA’s dominance.

With over 40 million mobile money users in Kenya, affordability has become a key factor in choosing a mobile money service. As the Communications Authority of Kenya noted, “Subscriptions to mobile money services increased from 39.8 million to 40.6 million, translating to a penetration rate of 78.9% during the reference period.”

Airtel Money’s growth strategy has focused on eliminating charges for Airtel-to-Airtel transfers, reducing fees for cross-network transactions, and expanding its agent network. For instance, sending KES 1,000 ($7.7) to other networks costs KES 11 on Airtel Money, compared to M-PESA’s KES 13 ($0.093).

The Central Bank of Kenya has been pushing for full mobile money interoperability, allowing users to transact seamlessly across networks.

While progress has been made, agent interoperability remains an unfinished agenda. This means that users still can’t access services at any agent, regardless of their provider.

Despite this, Airtel Money’s adoption has been supported by the Central Bank of Kenya’s decision to increase the transaction daily limit cap. This move has attracted high-value customers and businesses to the platform.

Airtel Money continues to grow, and it’s clear that the Kenyan mobile money market is becoming increasingly competitive. With its customer-centric approach and expanding agent network, Airtel Money is well-positioned to challenge M-PESA’s dominance.