Kenya Insights

Tag: Airtel Money

  • Airtel Kenya Announces Major Network Expansion and New Smarta Bundle Offer

    Airtel Kenya Announces Major Network Expansion and New Smarta Bundle Offer

    Airtel Kenya has unveiled plans for significant network expansion in 2025, alongside the introduction of a new customer-focused bundle offer during a launch event in Nairobi on Thursday.

    Airtel Kenya’s Managing Director, Ashish Malhotra, announced that the company aims to further expand its network infrastructure after successfully launching over 900 sites last year. “We’ve already launched over 4,200 sites that we operate, and we continue to progress on the network side every month. We have aggressive and ambitious plans for the coming year,” Malhotra stated.

    While exact figures for new site launches remain undisclosed, Malhotra assured that within the next 60 days, more details would be shared, although the number is expected not to exceed 1,000 new sites, given the substantial coverage already achieved across Kenya over the past year.

    Airtel’s commitment to enhancing service delivery was also evident in their 5G network rollout, which began in July 2023, covering 372 sites across 16 counties and 180 wards, aimed at serving its 21 million customers more efficiently.

    On the financial services front, Airtel Money Kenya’s Managing Director, Anne Kinuthia-Otieno, shared plans to increase the number of Airtel Money agents to 105,000 by the first quarter of 2025, up from the current 90,000. This expansion targets the 21.1% of the Kenyan population that remains unbanked. “We currently operate with 67 shops, two million paybill merchants, four million customers on Airtel Money, and 2,500 exclusive branches,” Kinuthia-Otieno noted, adding that partnerships with several tier-two banks have been established to facilitate easy money transfers from bank accounts to mobile wallets.

    The company also introduced the ‘Smarta Bundle’, a Valentine’s special offer, providing cost-saving benefits on data, transactions, calls, messages, and utility bill payments. The bundle comes in two packages:

    – Sh1,000 Package: Offers 30GB data per month, 400 minutes, and 2,000 SMSs across networks, with 100% savings on transaction fees for paybills, bank transfers to Airtel Money wallets, and withdrawals at any Airtel money agent. It includes the ‘Rudishiwa’ cashback, converting fees back into airtime.

    – Sh1,500 Package: Provides 60GB data with an additional 2GB daily, 900 minutes of talk time, and 5,000 SMSs.

    Both packages ensure that unused data can be rolled over to the next day or month, promoting uninterrupted connectivity. “This isn’t just about offering a product or pricing. It’s about providing convenience and freedom, ensuring our customers stay connected throughout the month,” Malhotra emphasized.

    Airtel Kenya’s strategy appears to focus on expanding its footprint while simultaneously enhancing customer benefits, aiming to solidify its position in the competitive telecom market in Kenya.

  • Comesa Probes Airtel Kenya Over Alleged Mobile Money Hidden Charges

    Comesa Probes Airtel Kenya Over Alleged Mobile Money Hidden Charges

    Comesa Competition Commission (Comesa) has initiated an investigation into Airtel Kenya following allegations that the telecom operator has been misleading customers about mobile money charges and not disclosing foreign exchange rates for international transactions.

    This scrutiny extends to Airtel’s operations in Uganda and Malawi as well.

    The regional watchdog’s notice, which has been seen by Kenya Insights, specifies that Airtel Mobile Commerce BV, through its subsidiaries, might have breached fair trading regulations.

    According to the notice, “The charges displayed to the sender before confirming the transaction are, in some instances, different from the actual charges indicated in the final confirmation message.”

    Furthermore, critical details like intermediary parties and the exchange rates used are not consistently disclosed to consumers, which is deemed necessary for transparent financial dealings.

    This investigation comes at a directive from anti-trust regulators aiming to increase transparency in the telecom and financial sectors, ensuring consumers are fully informed before completing transactions. Customers are encouraged to submit complaints by February 28 to aid the probe.

    In Uganda, Airtel faces accusations of showing one exchange rate to customers during the transaction process but applying a different rate at the time of transfer.

    Similar issues in Malawi include undisclosed charges and lack of confirmation details in the recipient’s currency, which the Commission describes as “misleading and unconscionable.”

    Despite these allegations Comesa has clarified that the investigation does not confirm wrongdoing but aims to ascertain if Airtel has indeed violated competition regulations.

    This scrutiny coincides with Airtel Money’s growing market share in Kenya, which has seen an increase from 6.6% to 7.6% in the three months leading to September 2024, encroaching on the dominance of Safaricom’s M-Pesa, which experienced a slight decline from 93.4% to 92.3% over the same period.

    This shift is particularly noteworthy as Kenya’s mobile money subscriptions hit a record high of 40.6 million, with a penetration rate of 78.9%.

    Airtel’s push for market expansion includes strategic partnerships like the deal with Naivas supermarkets last November, enhancing its agent network for Airtel Money services.

    Additionally, the Central Bank of Kenya’s decision in 2023 to increase daily transaction limits to Sh500,000 has supported Airtel’s growth in mobile money services.

    The investigation will delve into whether Airtel has made false claims regarding the pricing of its services, potentially impacting its reputation and operations in the region.