KENYA: Middle class and the rich top users of banking apps

ANNIE NJANJA

Higher-income earners who make Sh50,000 and above lead in the use of banking apps in Kenya, according to a study by audit firm Deloitte.

A consumer survey of a 1,000 respondents found that about 60 percent of high-income earners, defined by the firm as persons earning over Sh50,000, used online banking apps to transfer money, while only 47 percent of persons earning between Sh20,000 and Sh50,000 used the mode.

The Global Mobile Customer report also noted that only 30 percent of those earning below Sh20,000 used online banking apps to transfer cash.

“Societies are becoming more and more cashless. Money is becoming bits and bytes floating around in cyberspace. From our research, an average of 90 percent of respondents across all income bands transfers money via their mobile operator app/service. Differences are much more apparent in other modes of money transfer such as online banking where the higher income brackets lead in use,” the report says.

The report also noted that money operator apps such as Safaricom’s mySafaricom and M-Pesa, Airtel Money and T-Kash remained popular, at over 90 percent across all earning clusters. “Though mobile money transfer through network operators has been successful – mainly attributed to its low barrier to adoption, interoperability and convenience – there is an opportunity for industry players to collaborate, integrate payments and create an all-in-one intelligent market solution to maintain user and merchant loyalty.”

SOURCE: BUSINESSDAILYAFRICA