Safaricom has started cutting M-Pesa transaction charges for small businesses under a new campaign called PATA MORE, launched August 1 and rolling out in phases through the rest of the month. The changes target the fee structures merchants complain about most: Pochi la Biashara, Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods, and M-Pesa Business Till transfers.
The most immediate change affects Pochi la Biashara, the M-Pesa till product aimed at small and informal traders. Transactions up to Ksh 200 are now free, double the previous Ksh 100 threshold, under a 90-day promotional window running from August 1 to October 31.
What changes, and when
For larger transactions, Safaricom has capped the maximum charge at a flat Ksh 50 for any payment between Ksh 2,501 and Ksh 250,000, down from a previous ceiling of Ksh 108. That’s a meaningful cut for traders regularly moving payments in that range, cafes, retail shops, and service providers who take Lipa na M-Pesa payments for anything beyond small purchases.
Lipa na M-Pesa Buy Goods merchants see their revised tariffs take effect from August 7, a few days behind the Pochi la Biashara changes, which is when most small traders using till numbers will notice the difference on their statements.
Why it matters beyond the fee cut itself
M-Pesa transaction costs have been a persistent complaint from Kenya’s small business sector for years, cited regularly by traders as a real drag on thin margins, particularly for businesses that take frequent, low-value payments throughout the day. A doubled free threshold and a lower cap on mid-range transactions directly targets that complaint rather than offering a broader, vaguer promotional discount.
PATA MORE is framed by Safaricom as a wider value campaign spanning data, devices, and business services, not just M-Pesa pricing, but the transaction fee changes are the piece most likely to be felt immediately, by the small traders and shopkeepers who use Pochi la Biashara and Buy Goods tills every day rather than the customers on the paying end of those transactions.
