Kenya's mobile money use rise by 21mln USD in Q2

Kenyans made transactions worth 6.7 billion U.S. dollars on mobile money in the second quarter, a surge of 21.3 million dollars from the first three months.

The transactions were further an increase of 962 million dollars from a similar period last year, new data from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) showed Tuesday.

The data indicated a sustained rise in mobile money use, with use hitting a high of 2.3 billion dollars a month as the sector becomes competitive with the entrant of new players.

During the period, the largest transaction was recorded in May, where Kenyans conducted business worth 2.27 billion dollars on mobile money. The value of transactions in April stood at 2.11 billion dollars and in June 2.25 billion dollars.

In total, since the beginning of the year, Kenyans have made mobile money transactions worth 13.1 billion, a rise of 2 billion dollars from a similar period in 2014.

The rise in the value of the transactions is an indication that Kenya will sustain its record use of mobile money this year, thus, continue to hold firmly on its top position globally.

Last year, Kenyans transacted a record 26.1 billion dollars on mobile money, an increase of about 4 billion dollars from previous year.

There are over 27 million mobile money subscribers in the East African nation, according to Communication Authority of Kenya.

Seven mobile money service providers operate in Kenya, and Safaricom's Mpesa is the market leader with a share of over 90 percent. Endit