The Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya has revealed how much money it loses to the waived MPESA charges on payments below Sh1000.
The decision by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to waive transactions fees for payments through MPESA of less than Sh1000 has meant that StanChart loses Sh5 million per month of fees on bank-to-M-Pesa transactions.
In March, CBK had taken that decision and even extended it till next year as a way of curbing the spread of COVID-19 by discouraging the physical handling of cash.
The efforts also saw the increase of M-Pesa daily transaction limits in order to support SMEs,. Transaction amounts increased from Ksh70,000 to Ksh150,000, with Kenyans able to transact and hold in their wallets up to Ksh300,000.
StanChart’s revenue loss from the waivers was disclosed by chief executive Kariuki Ngari at the bank’s annual general meeting held on Friday last week via electronic means.
He added that the lender has also restructured loans amounting to 17.5 percent of its total loan book, giving relief to customers whose incomes have dropped due to the pandemic.
“To date, we have restructured loan facilities worth more than Sh22 billion over varying extension periods to a maximum period of 12 months as well as providing deferred payment terms,” Mr Ngari said.
“These restructured loans are supporting the SMEs in diverse fields of agriculture, manufacturing, trade, transport and communication, building and construction, tourism and hospitality industries in the country.”
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