CBK data shows decline in mobile money agent cash volumes amid digital payment shift

Safaricom's Fuliza has become a cornerstone of Kenya’s digital payment system. (Photo: Handout)

By Maureen Kinyanjui
Thursday, January 15, 2026

Listen

Read this story aloud

Listen to the clean text version of this article.

Ready

3 min listen

Audio reading is not supported on this browser.

Since the launch of M-Pesa in 2007, cash handled by agents had only dropped once, in 2023, by Sh35 billion. Despite the fall, Kenya’s economy remained resilient.

Mobile money agents across Kenya handled Sh430.3 billion less cash in the first 11 months of last year, pointing to a shift in payment habits, stricter oversight, and limited cash availability.

According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), agents managed Sh7.514 trillion from January to November 2025, down from Sh7.944 trillion during the same period in 2024.

“This might be as a result of a range of factors,” said a senior official in a bank’s digital payments unit who asked not to be named.

Latest Stories

Banks are also stepping up their presence in digital payments, sometimes charging lower fees than telecom operators, which is attracting more users to agency banking.

Since the launch of M-Pesa in 2007, cash handled by agents had only dropped once, in 2023, by Sh35 billion. Despite the fall, Kenya’s economy remained resilient.

Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows the economy grew faster in the first nine months of last year compared to 2024.

Other measures, including stock market activity, cement consumption, and exchange rate stability, indicate continued economic activity.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, agent cash volumes surged as CBK emergency measures encouraged mobile transactions.

The largest spike came in 2021, when free mobile wallet-to-bank transfers led to a Sh1.639 trillion increase in agent-handled cash.

Agents earned Sh28.21 billion in commissions in the year to March 2021, up from Sh23.82 billion the previous year, as M-Pesa-to-bank transfers overtook bank-to-M-Pesa deposits.

M-Pesa Africa attributed the surge to users depositing funds via mobile wallets instead of directly with banks.