NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, October 24, 2013

In February, the National Treasury introduced a law imposing a 10 percent excise duty on mobile money transfer services, raising fears of a general reduction in consumer usage.

According to Business Daily, the government implemented the levy to raise an additional Sh2.5 billion ($29.5 million) annually.

Following the implementation, industry transaction dipped by 1.1 percent to Sh141.1 billion ($1.66 billion) in February, then dipped 4.7 percent to Sh134.4 billion ($1.58 billion) in March.

The following month, the mobile money industry regained strength as the value of transactions climbed to Sh142.6 billion ($1.68 billiob), and jumped to its record monthly highest of Sh168.1 billion ($1.98 billion) in August.