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

Thursday, August 22, 2019

A recent survey conducted by CGAP reveals that M-PESA wallet balances, on average, remain low, which suggests M-PESA is primarily a transaction tool and less of a savings tool.

The survey has revealed that an average M-PESA net balance is less than KES 1,000 ($10) and this figure remains constant whether the user has a bank account or not. These balances were the same across employment types and income levels.

According to CGAP:

“This suggests that while banked M-PESA users might be saving money in the bank and using their mobile money accounts for transactions, those without bank accounts are finding ways to save outside of their wallet accounts (to the extent they are saving).”

Photo courtesy of Scott Mainwaring.