KENYA’S 2021 mobile money use is set to hit a historic high after users moved 6.24 trillion shillings (US$55.1 billion) on phones between January and November in 2021, surpassing the US$45.9 billion transacted in the entire 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said in a new data released Monday.

The surge in transactions came despite the government removing COVID-19 subsidies at the start of 2021.

The government at the onset of the pandemic in the nation in March 2020 made all mobile money transactions worth US$8.83 and below free as well as bank and mobile transactions.

This boosted usage and saw eight million subscribers join the service as cashless transactions increased, according to the CBK.

Upon removal of the subsidies, usage of the service was expected to decline or slow down but the opposite has happened, according to the CBK.

During the 11 months, the highest ever mobile money transaction in a month was recorded in November at US$5.5 billion as the number of agents hit a high of 299,053 and subscriptions at 67 million, said the CBK. (SD-Xinhua)