Airtel Money Kenya announced on November 11, 2026 that it has linked its mobile-wallet service to the Pesalink interbank payment network, allowing customers to transfer funds directly to 30 banks, SACCOs and microfinance institutions.
The new service can be accessed through the MyAirtel app by selecting the Pay Bill option, choosing a financial institution, entering the account number and amount, and confirming the transfer; users of feature phones can also use USSD code *334# and the platform provides a real-time account-verification step before funds are debited.
Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL), which operates Pesalink on behalf of the Kenya Bankers Association, supplies the shared infrastructure; IPSL states that its network connects more than 190 institutions, while the partnership announcement cites over 200 banks, telcos, fintechs and SACCOs, with the 30 institutions being those reachable through this specific integration.
Acting Managing Director Michael Bonke said the partnership “enables us to extend our reach into the broader financial ecosystem through Pesalink” and makes it easier for customers to move money between mobile wallets and bank accounts; IPSL Chief Executive Gituku Kirika described the tie-up as “an important milestone in connecting banking rails with mobile money ecosystems” that gives Kenyans more choice in everyday payments.
Airtel Money and IPSL plan to progressively expand the arrangement to include cash-in and cash-out services via Airtel’s agent network and to add person-to-merchant (P2M) settlement options, although no dates have been provided.
The integration builds on earlier collaborations, including a June 2026 partnership with KCB Group that gave Airtel Money users access to more than 22,000 KCB agents for cash deposits and withdrawals, and a December 2025 deal with I&M Bank that enabled direct merchant payments; Airtel Money also maintains relationships with Absa and KCB for wallet-to-bank and bank-to-wallet services.
TechTrendsKE reported that Airtel Money’s market share rose from 10.9 per cent to 11.1 per cent between the third and fourth quarters of the 2025/26 financial year, with mobile-money subscriptions reaching 54 million by June 2026; in July 2026, 19 banks and micro-finance banks adopted a simplified Pesalink pricing structure that makes transfers up to KSh1,000 free and charges a flat KSh20 for amounts above KSh1,000 up to KSh999,999.
A September 2026 TechTrendsKE piece noted that regulated SACCOs held KSh1.21 trillion in assets in 2025, underscoring the relevance of linking mobile-money providers to interoperable payment networks for customers whose financial relationships extend beyond commercial banks.
