Safaricom on Monday, March 16, announced that it had waived fees for Mpesa transactions below Ksh1,000.
The mobile service provider announced that it had to chalk off the fee for a period of 90 days.
Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph stated that the latest move was in accordance with the directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta to explore ways of deepening mobile money usage to reduce the risk of spreading the virus through the physical handling of cash.
The company also announced that it had received approval from the Central Bank of Kenya to increase the daily transaction limit from the current Ksh 70,000 to Ksh 150,000.
"Kenyans will also be able to transact up to Ksh 300,000 up from the current limit of Ksh 140,000 and hold up to Ksh 300,000 in their Mpesa wallets," reads the mobile service provider's message in part.
According to their press statement, the resolutions cames after a closed-door meeting with CBK governor, Patrick Njoroge where the COVID-19 threat was discussed in length.
Michael Joseph also revealed that his firm worked with the national government to set up a call center and integrate the 719 toll-free line.
This was undertaken to aid the National Emergency Response Team on coronavirus in providing timely support to Kenyans in the prevention and management of suspected cases.
"We have also interconnected other networks to ensure that their subscriber can access the call centre. All calls to 719 are free," the statement further reads.
