Granted, few countries in the world have been worse hit as the epicenter, China. Third world countries are relatively ill-prepared to deal with this outbreak. Kenya has recently confirmed three cases of the virus within its borders and in response, the President has called on various stakeholders to implement measures to see the containment of the same. In that light, Kenya’s biggest telco, Safaricom has announced a few measures that will go to help the country in containing the virus. Starting tomorrow, March 17th, the carrier will waiver all transaction charges for person-to-person transactions for amounts up to Ksh 1,000. This, the company says, is in a bid to encourage users to go cashless because surface contamination and transmission seem to be one of the main ways COVID-19 is transmitted. Other changes that the company is implementing in and that they’ll be in force for the next 90 days include the following.
M-PESA Transaction limits have been increased from the current Ksh 70,000 to Ksh 150,000.Daily transaction limits have also been increased from Ksh 140,000 to Ksh 300,000. M-PESA wallets will now hold up to Ksh 300,000, up from the current Ksh 140,000 limit.
The company further says that it is helping the Kenyan government in setting up a toll-free COVID-19 emergency number, 719. This number will be run and operated by the National Emergency Response Committee on Corona Virus in a bid to support and inform Kenyans on ways to better protect themselves. All this is a welcome move by the carrier as M-PESA is a widely used platform in the country. If the nation can leverage this tech to go a little more cashless, at least during this uncertain period and COVID-19 Pandemic, the average Kenyan has every reason to celebrate.
