Kenya’s central bank has reinstated fees charged by banks for transferring money to mobile wallets such as MPESA and Airtel Money. These fees were previously suspended to eases Covid 19 burden on Kenyans. Starting January 2023, banks will once again charge a fee to send cash to mobile wallets. Banks had been seeking to have the fees returned after witnessing weaker profits in the years following the Covid 19 pandemic.
Starting January 1, 2023, the Central Bank of Kenya will no longer offer free transfers to mobile money wallets. Instead, these transactions will now be subject to a fee. The NCBA Bank has provided specific details on the fees that will be charged for this service. Customers should be aware of these changes and plan accordingly when making mobile money transfers. It is important to note that these fees were previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but have been requested to be reinstated by the banks in Kenya.
NCBA to MPESA and Airtel Money fees
| Tariffs (KES) | To M-PESA in KES | To Airtel Money in KES |
| 1-100 | 0 | 0 |
| 101-500 | 10 | 11 |
| 501-1000 | 12 | 18 |
| 1001-1500 | 14 | 20 |
| 1501-2500 | 23 | 25 |
| 2501-3500 | 33 | 35 |
| 3501-5000 | 43 | 45 |
| 5001-7500 | 55 | 55 |
| 7501-20,000 | 65 | 65 |
| 20,001-150,500 | 67 | 65 |