KENYA:KCB Group working on a Sh1.5Bn mobile money app

Chief Executive Joshua Oigara says the platform, which is being built by Huawei Technologies, will replace the current KCB MPESA platform and will focus on mobile loans, savings and payments.

The move comes even as 80 percent of the banks’ transactions are done on mobile phones.

The bank says it will not be opening any new branches in the coming future as more transactions switch to mobile.

Oigara says moving forward the bank will be reorganizing its branches to be service centers.

“We are not planning to close any branches though,” Oigara added.

The KCB MPESA platform has evolved to become a loan disbursement tool, adding to other uses such as peer transfers, betting, as well as paying for shopping, utility bills, school fees, and receiving dividends.

Payment of goods and service through the mobile money transfer platforms hit Sh692 Billion in June 2017, according to sector statistics report by Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

Person to person transfers was valued at Sh541.8 billion.

The report indicates that the number of mobile money subscriptions stood at 28.0 million while the number of registered agents stood at 180,657.

During the quarter under review a total of 480.5 million transactions (withdrawals and deposits) valued at Sh1.2 trillion were made.

“The positive growth witnessed in the mobile money transfer service was largely driven by the widespread use of mobile money solutions and adoption of the service among traditionally underserved groups (rural populations), and increasingly broad range of mobile money services (including insurance and loan products) in Kenya,” reads part of the report. 

SOURCE:CAPITALFM