The changes will be effective tomorrow for all M-Pesa users, the telco announced in a statement.

“We appreciate the role that the Central Bank of Kenya has played by constantly providing guidance on innovations and protections that we have put in place to strengthen M-PESA’s adherence  to KYC, anti-money laundering and other financial regulations and safeguards,” Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said.

“The increased account limits will provide customers and especially small businesses with increased convenience as the share of cashless transactions continues to rise,” Ndegwa added.

A higher transaction limit is set to boost businesses, especially small ones, as the use of cashless transactions grows.

In the last financial year to March 2023, for example, more than 606,000 businesses received payments through Lipa Na M-Pesa, with a total of Sh1.625 trillion transacted in the 12 months.

M-Pesa transaction limits were previously increased in March 2020, when the CBK doubled the amount from Sh150,000 to Sh300,000.