In October of last year, Airtel Kenya, the fastest-growing mobile service provider of Airtel Africa, made some changes to the charges for its mobile money service, Airtel Money, which will prevail even as we enter 2024.
So, following the revision and the consecutive release of a new Airtel Money Tariff Guide, the costs of sending money from Airtel Money to other networks, Mpesa and the rest, and transaction fees for cash withdrawals were most affected.
For instance, withdrawing amounts between Ksh50 and 100 was Ksh9 before, but now it is Ksh10. For Ksh101 to Ksh500, its withdrawal charge is Ksh25, up from Ksh22, a transaction fee of Ksh25 from the initial Ksh23 applies when you want to get Ksh1,000–Ksh2,500 in cash from Airtel Money agents, and so on up to Ksh250,000, the maximum you can withdraw with Airtel Kenya at Ksh300 transaction fee. Read on to find out more.
The latest Airtel Money withdrawal charges in Kenya
Here is the Airtel Money withdrawal chart for 2024;
| Airtel Money withdrawal amount | New charges |
| Ksh1 to Ksh49 | Ksh0 (Free) |
| Ksh50 to Ksh100 | Ksh10 |
| Ksh101 to Ksh500 | Ksh25 |
| Ksh501 to Ksh1,000 | Ksh25 |
| Ksh1,001 to Ksh1,500 | Ksh25 |
| Ksh1,501 to Ksh2,500 | Ksh25 |
| Ksh2,501 to Ksh3,500 | Ksh44 |
| Ksh3,501 to Ksh5,000 | Ksh55 |
| Ksh5,001 to Ksh7,500 | Ksh70 |
| Ksh7,501 to Ksh10,000 | Ksh95 |
| Ksh10,001 to Ksh15,000 | Ksh135 |
| Ksh15,001 to Ksh20,000 | Ksh150 |
| Ksh20,001 to Ksh25,000 | Ksh160 |
| Ksh25,001 to Ksh35,000 | Ksh160 |
| Ksh35,001 to Ksh40,000 | Ksh240 |
| Ksh40,001 to Ksh45,000 | Ksh260 |
| Ksh45,001 to Ksh50,000 | Ksh270 |
| Ksh50,001 to Ksh250,000 | Ksh300 |
How does Airtel compare with Mpesa?
When you look at the withdrawal costs of Airtel Money and Mpesa, you will notice that Safaricom subscribers pay more to get cash than Airtel Kenya customers in that for a small tariff band of Ksh50 to Ksh100, the latter pay less by Ksh1 and save an excess of Ksh32 when they withdraw Ksh15,000 because Safaricom charges Ksh167 and Airtel Ksh135.
Transaction limits, the maximum account balance, and the daily transaction value of Ksh500,000 are similar for both networks, as well as the maximum Ksh250,000 amount per transaction, sending and withdrawing cash.
However, it costs Ksh309 to withdraw the stated amount from Mpesa shops and agent outlets, Ksh9 more than what you will be charged while using Airtel Money. Airtel says its customers save close to 40% on transaction charges.
Again, when Airtel Kenya reviewed its tariffs, it maintained free transfers within its network, regardless of the amount. “Customers using Airtel Money can send money affordably across networks. However, it is FREE when they send money to other Airtel customers. To send Money using Airtel Money, customers dial *334# & select Send Money, or they can use My Airtel App and then select Send Money.”
