Mpesa-Tkash Interoperability Deal To Lower Mobile Money Transfer Charges

Safaricom and Telkom have signed a deal to enable their subscribers transfer funds from M-Pesa to T-kash and vice varsa seamlessly and at no extra.

The move was announced in a statement sent to newsrooms during the weekend, and will see the prices drop to normal prices of sending money from Mpesa to Mpesa users.

For instance, the cost of sending up to Ksh1,000 from Mpesa to Telkom’s T-kash will be Ksh11 down from Ksh45. On the other hand, sending the same amount from T-kash to Mpesa will cost you Ksh10 down from Ksh35.

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In general, mobile money transfer charges between the two mobile money service providers will drop from between Ksh35 and Ksh309 to Ksh10 and Ksh309. Similarly, the cross-network money transfers between the two networks will move up from Ksh35,000 to Ksh70,000.

“Effective October 4, M-Pesa and T-Kash customers will now seamlessly send and receive funds directly to and from their mobile wallets. Telkom’s inclusion in the interoperability initiative is a significant step towards a more integrated mobile money ecosystem and a boost to financial inclusion agenda in Kenya,” read the statement in part.

The interoperability initiative started in April between Safaricom and Airtel. However, the charges between the two networks have remained high, with the least transfer charges being Ksh44.

Safaricom has been in a tussle with its rivals and the Competition Authority, where it has been accused of being the dominant player in the market. Consequently, Competition Authority wants Safaricom to share its platforms with other players.

Safaricom controls 81 per cent of all mobile money subscriptions while Airtel controls 11 percent. Other players including Equitel and Telkom control the rest, with differing proportions.

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