Mobile money subscribers dip despite uptick in cash transfers

The number of mobile money subscribers in Kenya decreased by 600,000 last year, the data from the 2024 Economic Survey shows. According to the survey, the total number of subscribers in Kenya dipped from 38.6 million reported in 2022 to 38 million, despite a 5.5 percent growth in cash transfers which hit Kes5.5 trillion in the period under review.

Overall, prepaid mobile phone service plans remained dominant, accounting for 65,492,294 out of the total 66,745,709 mobile subscriptions, leaving only 1,253,415 for postpaid plans, as reported by the Communications Authority of Kenya.

Safaricom, the market leader, has 44,013,156 subscriptions, with 42,875,208 prepaid and 1,137,948 postpaid. Airtel, the second-largest provider, follows this trend with 19,282,993 of its 19,387,460 subscriptions being prepaid and just 104,467 postpaid.