In the spirit of making life easier, Equitel was created by Equity Bank to provide funds accessibility and choice of payment to their customers and also to other Kenyans – it’s not a must to have an Equity Bank account to register for an Equitel SIM card.
If you are an Equity Bank customer, the Equitel line allows you to transfer money from your bank account and withdraw it through an Equitel agent to get cash, the same as for regular users.
When making Equitel money withdrawals from their agents, the transaction usually comes with a fee, and these withdrawal charges vary and depend on the amount you want to get in cash. For example, the fee to withdraw Ksh2,000 is Ksh27.50, like getting Ksh1,000, the withdrawal charges for amounts from Ksh2,501 to Ksh5,000 is Ksh49.50 in 2024, Ksh159.50 for withdrawing Ksh20,000 and below up to Ksh10,001, Ksh187.00 for Ksh20,001 to Ksh35,000 and so on:
Here are all Equitel withdrawal charges;
The minimum amount you can withdraw at an Equitel agent is Ksh100, and the maximum amount is Ksh100,000, although the daily transaction value is Ksh500,000.
| Amounts to withdraw from Equitel | Applicable fees (2024) |
| Ksh100 to Ksh2,500 | Ksh27.50 |
| Ksh2,501 to Ksh5,000 | Ksh49.50 |
| Ksh5,001 to Ksh10,000 | Ksh82.50 |
| Ksh10,001 to Ksh20,000 | Ksh159.50 |
| Ksh20,001 to Ksh35,000 | Ksh187.00 |
| Ksh35,001 to Ksh50,000 | Ksh214.50 |
| Ksh50,001 to Ksh100,000 | Ksh242.00 |
Equitel also permits its registered customers to send money within themselves for free, no matter the amount, and to other people using other lines, Airtel and Safaricom’s Mpesa.
However, when sending money to Mpesa and Airtel Money accounts, all transactions are subject to charges based on the amount and the mobile money service between the two, except for Ksh100, which is zero.
Sending amounts between Ksh101 to Ksh500 from Equitel to Mpesa costs Ksh10 and Ksh11 on Airtel Money, Ksh501 to Ksh1,000 is charged a transfer fee of Ksh12 and Ksh13, respectively, all the way to the maximum amount you can send instantly, Ksh150,000, charged Ksh67 to Mpesa and Ksh65 to Airtel Money.
Equitel to Mpesa/Airtel Money charges 2024
See what it will cost you today to send money from your Equitel SIM card to Mpesa or Airtel Money users in Kenya;
| From Equitel amount | To Mpesa charges | To Airtel Money charges |
| Ksh1 – Ksh100 | FREE | FREE |
| Ksh101 – Ksh500 | Ksh10 | Ksh11 |
| Ksh501 – Ksh1,000 | Ksh12 | Ksh13 |
| Ksh1,001 – Ksh1,500 | Ksh14 | Ksh20 |
| Ksh1,501 – Ksh2,500 | Ksh23 | Ksh25 |
| Ksh2,501 – Ksh3,500 | Ksh33 | Ksh35 |
| Ksh3,501 – Ksh5,000 | Ksh43 | Ksh45 |
| Ksh5,001 – Ksh7,500 | Ksh55 | Ksh55 |
| Ksh7,501 – Ksh20,000 | Ksh65 | Ksh65 |
| Kah20,001 – Ksh150,000 | Ksh67 | Ksh65 |
When you send money from Equitel to Mpesa or Airtel Money, recipients receive funds within seconds.
READ: Mpesa: Withdrawals, Tariff of Charges 2024
