Business
Kenya: Mobile money deposits hit $8 billion in 2012 – new taxes on transactions coming
Kenyans deposited US$8 billion into mobile money services for the year ending June 2012 – a 38 percent rise that revealed why the country’s government has set its sights on the thriving sector for further taxation to meet its obligations.
According to data released by the regulator – Communications Commission of Kenya Tuesday, this was up on the US$5.8 billion deposited in the year that ended June 2011.
M-Pesa, a service run by market leader Safaricom and renowned globally, accounted for the bulk of the increased deposits in what the Communications Commission of Kenya said showed an unmet appetite for financial services in the east African country.
The number of mobile money agents rose 16 percent to 49,079 while the number of mobile money subscriptions rose by 12.13 percent to reach 19.5 million.
“This upward trend signifies that mobile money transfer service has become instrumental in providing the unmet demand for financial services, thereby promoting financial inclusion in the country,” the Communications Commission of Kenya said.
It is this vast flow of funds that Kenyan Finance minister Njeru Githae has targeted, with new taxation measures passed by the country’s parliament last week.
The new measures would see the government attach a 10 percent excise tax on all mobile money transfer fees charged by cellular companies and other financial institutions.
