High Court declines to extend orders on the reintroduction of transactions charges

The High Court has declined to extend orders which were directing Safaricom and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to halt the reintroduction of charges for transactions between mobile money wallets and bank accounts.

These transaction fees were initially suspended in March 2020 as a means of providing relief and assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a way to alleviate the financial burden on individuals and families.

However, it was planned for the reintroduction of these charges to take effect starting January 2023.

However, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) stated in a press release on December 6th that the charges that were planned to be reintroduced would be lower than the fees that were in place before the emergency measure was implemented in March 2020.

“The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announces the reintroduction of charges for
transactions between mobile money wallets and bank accounts, which were waived on
March 16, 2020, as part of the emergency measures to facilitate use of mobile money in
the context of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. The new charges are significantly
lower than those that applied before and will apply after January 1, 2023.” the press release stated.

It further read,

” The revised maximum charges for transfers from bank accounts to mobile money
wallets will be reduced by on average up to 61%, and mobile money wallet to
bank account by on average up to 47%”

“Tariffs for paybills that are used to collect and disburse funds by businesses,
companies, and institutions such as schools, utilities, etc, will be reduced by on
average 50%.”

“The charges levied by banks for bank to mobile money transactions will be reduced by
on average 45%.”

More information to follow.