Airtel Targets Kenya's SMEs as Mobile Money Battle Shifts Beyond Peer-to-Peer Transfers

Kenya's mobile money war is entering a new phase, with operators increasingly competing for the country's millions of small businesses rather than merely fighting for peer-to-peer transactions.

• Airtel Money's launch of Bizna Wallet, alongside a 50 percent cashback programme on transaction charges, signals an aggressive push into merchant payments at a time when the mobile money market is becoming more sophisticated and competitive.
• The product allows traders to separate business and personal finances, monitor cash flows, transfer funds across wallets and banks, and shield business payments from unauthorised reversals.
• Airtel's mobile money market share has risen to 11 percent, up from below 2 percent several years ago. 

Customers paying into Bizna Wallet will not incur transaction charges, a move Airtel believes will encourage merchant adoption. 

Acting Airtel Money Managing Director Bonke Michael said the operator has invested in upgrading its mobile money platform, resulting in stronger security, improved reliability and a broader range of financial partnerships.

The company now serves more than six million Airtel Money customers, has expanded access to over two million merchant points, and says all customers can now move money seamlessly between Airtel Money and major Kenyan banks. Airtel also says its mobile money market share has risen to 11 percent, up from below 2 percent several years ago. 

According to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), the country had 53.37 million mobile money subscriptionsby the end of March 2026, representing a 3.9 percent quarterly increase, while the number of registered mobile money agents jumped 20.2 percent to 602,470, underscoring the growing importance of digital financial services in everyday commerce. 

Merchant services have become the next battleground

According to the Airtel, Bizna Wallet is meant to solve the challenge many traders face when they receive business payments through personal wallets, making it difficult to separate business income from household finances, monitor cash flow or maintain transaction records.