The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) latest report shows that mobile money subscribers decreased from Kes 38.6 million in 2022 to 38.0 million in 2023

This indicates a shift in consumer behavior regarding payment patterns due to the hiked fees imposed on mobile money transactions.

Further, the 2024 Economic Survey showed that the country's mobile money subscribers dropped by 600,000 last year.

“Mobile money transfer subscribers decreased from Kes 38.6 million in 2022 to 38.0 million in 2023 however Mobile money transferred between subscribers increased by 19.6 percent to Kes 5.5 trillion in 2023.”

The KNBS report findings hinted at a possible trend of the number of people subscribed to mobile money services dropping even further should the proposed 2024 Finance Bill become law.

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This comes as a Bill sponsored by Molo MP Kimani Kuria seeks to introduce new levies, including increased excise taxes on M-Pesa, airtime, and bank transfers, among others. This move will undoubtedly increase charges for mobile money transfer services.

Furher, the survey showed the Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) sector recorded 5.8 percent growth in 2023, with domestic call traffic surging by 13.4 percent to Kes 88.8 billion minutes.

The sector also witnessed a rise in the number of cybercrimes reported; 1.7 billion cyber-related crimes were reported in 2023, a rise from the 700 million recorded in 2022.

“The cybercrimes reported in 2023 was 1.7 billion, a rise from 700 million in 2022.The bulk of these incidents being attributed to system vulnerabilities,” the report noted.

The report conducted during the period under review showed how various sectors and industry players in the nation’s economy performed in the economic landscape.