The number of Kenyans using mobile money services dropped by 600,000 in the year ending December 2023, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The KNBS Economic Survey Report 2024 showed a significant decrease from 38.6 million users in 2022 to 38 million users in 2023, attributing the decline to factors such as taxation and cybercrime.

This represented a 1.7% drop in mobile money subscriptions. The report indicated that cybercrime activities more than doubled, from 700 million incidents in 2022 to 1.7 billion in 2023, due to system vulnerabilities.

Tech expert Moses Kemibaro noted that cybercrime is a major factor driving the decline in mobile money subscriptions. “In line with global trends, it’s only going to escalate going forward. Individuals and organisations are always at risk and need to be proactive in protecting themselves from cyber threats,” said Kemibaro.

The Finance Act 2023 increased the excise duty on mobile money transfer services from 12% to 15%, leading Safaricom to raise its service charges. Other providers, including Airtel and Telkom Kenya, followed suit. The Finance Bill 2024 proposes further increases in excise duty on money transfer services, which could raise the cost of financial services even more.