I&M Bank has announced a waiver of transaction charges from its digital banking platform I&M On The Go (OTG), to mobile money wallets.
Following its restoration by the Central Bank of Kenya in January 2023, the waiver would make I&M Bank the first lender in Kenya to formally offer zero fees for Bank to M-PESA and Airtel Money transactions.
The bank noted there are also plans to incorporate T-Kash transactions for Telkom subscribers.
Speaking during a press conference, I&M’s General Manager for Digital Business, Mr. Michael Mwangi said recent customer feedback pointed out an opportunity to review the bank policies on the bank to mobile money wallet charges for the digitally active customer.
“We believe this move will offer new and existing customers a huge relief during tough economic times and encourage more customers to transact on mobile,” said Mr Mwangi.
The bank noted that when the transaction charges were waived in March 2020 because of the COVID pandemic emergency measures, the payment ecosystem between mobile money wallets and bank accounts expanded.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reinstated the fees in December 2022, but at drastically reduced rates of up to 61%, which has raised the cost of life for Kenyans.
Various banks released their rates. The only platform not charging these costs at the time was NCBA Loop, a move that lasted shortly for the better part of January this year,and once again it reintroduced the charges.
The High Court of Kenya also forbade banks from restoring the fees at some point in January 2023, although the majority of the banks disregarded the order.
I&M Bank Kenya stated it wants to meet the need of its customers by introducing zero charges on Bank to Mobile Money Wallet transfers.
“A key focus for the bank since the launch of our current iMara 2.0 strategy is to enhance our digital banking solutions to meet the needs of our customers. We look forward to seeing these numbers grow with digital transactions gaining favor among our digitally active customers,” added Mr Mwangi.