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Men dominate high-value mobile money transactions
The CBK report on mobile money trends notes that the disclosures provide the opportunity to further probe gender disparities in the usage of instant payment systems.
Men accounted for 61 percent of mobile money cash that flowed through M-Pesa, Airtel Money and T-Kash, reflecting their dominance of the super-earners club.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that women accounted for 39 percent of the value of mobile money transactions in 2024, estimated at Sh3.3 trillion.
Men are estimated to have handled transactions valued at Sh5.3 billion or 61 percent of Sh8.69 trillion mobile money deals.
This mirrors the gender pay gap at the top level amid the push for salary parity in the workplace.
“Three instant payment services (IPS), including Kenya mobile money, provided gender-disaggregated data for 2024. Analysis of this data reveals that transactions initiated by men on these systems made up the majority of transaction volumes and values,” the report indicates.
“The average transaction size of women’s transactions was also lower than men’s across all three systems.”
The average value per transaction for women stood at Sh1,034.24 ($8) compared with a higher mean for men at Sh1,163.52 ($9).
There have been concerns over the widening gender pay gap in corporate Kenya, where women are paid less for the same work as men, despite numerous career developments being made by female graduates.
In 2023, the number of women earning more than Sh100,000 stood at 139,847, compared to 247,571 men, reflecting male dominance in top government and corporate roles.
The gender pay gap remains a persistent problem in Kenya, despite sex discrimination being outlawed decades ago.
Some of Kenya’s largest employers have been criticised for the slow pace at which they are narrowing their pay gaps, possibly due to the fact that fewer women are taking up management roles.
The number of employees earning over Sh100,000 monthly grew by 4.2 percent, an improvement from a slower growth in 2022.
The CBK report on mobile money trends notes that the disclosures provide the opportunity to further probe gender disparities in the usage of instant payment systems.
“These findings highlight a gender gap in usage and present an important opportunity for IPS operators to investigate the underlying causes,” the report adds.
“By understanding these disparities, systems can be better tailored through inclusive product design to support greater adoption among women.”
Mobile money platforms have grown rapidly in Africa, where they are now widely used for cash transfers and to pay for products and services like utility bills, energy purchases, food orders and fares.
However, the gender gap in the usage of financial services has been narrowing, particularly with regard to mobile money. Nonetheless, disparities remain high in banking, insurance and pensions.
“2024 data highlights the narrowing gender gap in financial services usage, particularly in mobile money, where the gap reduced to 1.8 percent, down from 5.2 percent in 2021. However, gender gap in banking, insurance and pensions persists, underscoring structural barriers that demand targeted policy and programmatic interventions,” the 2024 FinAccess Survey by CBK indicates.
Kenya’s national payment system has undergone major changes and developments in recent decades, guided by reforms implemented by CBK in collaboration with government and industry stakeholders.
The current retail system comprises payment service providers (PSPs), including e-money issuers, payment switches, gateways and aggregators, which mostly process low-value, but high-volume payments.
Kenya has two main instant payment systems: the Kenya Mobile Money and PesaLink, a real-time digital payment solution facilitating instant bank-to-bank transfers.
