Safaricom's Financial Services Business Overtakes Mobile Network Growth

Safaricom Kenya has reported KES 194.0 billion in service revenue for the six months to 30 September 2025. The company's earnings booklet shows that the gap between its connectivity and M-PESA businesses has narrowed to KES 8.1 billion. M-PESA is growing at more than twice the pace of connectivity, driven by a growing financial services business that now reaches customers through the mobile network.

Mobile data revenue rose 13.4% to KES 40.3 billion, while voice slipped 2.1% and messaging fell 11.7%. The growth in mobile data revenue came from an increase in volume, with average usage per chargeable subscriber up 20.6% to 4.85GB. This increase was driven by a drop in the rate per megabyte of 11.7%, a characteristic of a mature network that cuts prices to keep customers online.

M-PESA's revenue no longer depends primarily on person-to-person transfers. Instead, consumer and business payments now generate about KES 62.8 billion, or 71% of M-PESA revenue. This represents a shift from facilitating transfers to providing payment infrastructure for shops, businesses, and consumers. Safaricom earns revenue each time a customer pays a merchant, a business disburses funds, or an organization collects money across its network.

Transaction volumes on M-PESA rose 26.5% to 21.87 billion, but the value of transactions grew only 5% to KES 20.21 trillion. Free micro-transactions made up 36.8% of volumes. Revenue per active customer slipped 0.3% to KES 388.29, even as chargeable transactions per customer rose 3.5% to 38.69. M-PESA commissions cost KES 18.78 billion over the period.

The growth in merchant numbers offers a clearer picture of Safaricom's strategy for M-PESA. Active Lipa na M-PESA merchants grew 32.2% to 870,740, while Pochi tills climbed 72.6% to 1.5 million. The combined merchant base reached 2.37 million, with Pochi revenue rising 95.4%. Merchants using Pochi can become part of the customer base for additional financial products.

Safaricom is expanding its financial services offerings, including the launch of Taasi Till and Taasi Pochi in May. These products provide instant credit ranging from KES 1,500 to KES 250,000 for Pochi users. Fuliza, the overdraft product, already reached 9.1 million customers and earned KES 2.6 billion in the period. The M-PESA app, now called My OneApp, has 5.8 million active consumer users and 347,700 active business customers.

While payments still generate the majority of M-PESA's revenue, the financial services line contributed only KES 4.6 billion, or 5.2% of M-PESA revenue. Safaricom is not yet a bank, but the company is building a financial infrastructure and distribution business that still runs a large telco. The company's operating free cash flow fell 11.5% as capital spending rose, highlighting the added complexity of expanding into lending, savings, and insurance.

Key points

• M-PESA's revenue growth is driven by consumer and business payments, which now generate 71% of revenue.
• Safaricom's financial services business is growing at a faster rate than its mobile network.
• The company is expanding its financial services offerings, including instant credit products and a money-market fund.