The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Tuesday announced a successful separation of Airtel Money, a telecommunications business previously under Airtel Networks Kenya Limited.
Consequently, Airtel Money is now an independent entity under the name Airtel Money Kenya Limited (AMKL). The bid to have the two separated started in 2019.
With the separation, Airtel Money, now becomes a direct competitor to Safaricon’s MPESA and gives Kenyans more options for mobile money transfers.
CBK welcomed the separation and said it would enable Airtel Money Kenya to ring-fence its operations and focus exclusively on its mobile money business.
“Significantly, this sets the foundation for AMKL to enhance governance over its mobile money business, strengthen its operations, and offer better services to its customers,” CBK said.
The Central Bank licensed Airtel Money as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) in line with the National Payment System Act, 2011, on January 21, 2022. Also, it granted a transition period to complete the transfer.
Airtel Money and Airtel Network Kenya are incorporated in the country as subsidiaries of Airtel Africa, whose headquarters are in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
CBK said it had engaged PSPs to ensure that the activities under CBK’s supervision are appropriately ring-fenced from other business lines. The regulator explained that that would allow the PSPs to protect their CBK-regulated activities from shocks emanating from the other business activities, strengthen governance, enhance resilience, and focus on improving its services to customers.
This effort will facilitate realizing the vision in the National Payments Strategy 2022- 2025 of “a secure, fast, efficient and collaborative payments system that supports financial inclusion and innovations that benefit Kenyans,” CBK said.