The telecom group disclosed in its FY2026 results that Airtel Money’s customer base grew by 21.3 per cent year-on-year, driven by rising smartphone adoption, expanding merchant payments, digital lending services, and broader financial inclusion efforts across underserved African markets.

The company described mobile money as one of its strongest growth engines, supported by growing customer migration from feature phones to smartphones and stronger digital engagement through its MyAirtel platform.

According to the report, Airtel Money smartphone penetration rose above 51 per cent in March 2026, up from 48 per cent a year earlier, while app transacting customers surged 74 per cent year-on-year.

The telecom operator said total processed value (TPV) on the MyAirtel app jumped 79 per cent to $8.3 billion during FY2026, reflecting rising demand for digital financial services across its 14 African markets.

Airtel Africa is increasingly positioning Airtel Money beyond basic transfers into a broader fintech ecosystem covering merchant payments, savings, international remittances, digital lending, and card-linked financial services.

“Merchant payments remain a key growth pillar, enabling businesses to accept digital payments and accelerating the transition from cash,” the company stated.

The company also expanded its retail and agent network significantly during the year. Airtel Africa disclosed that it now operates through approximately 49,000 exclusive outlets, while its non-exclusive agent base grew by 39 per cent year-on-year.

Industry analysts say the latest results reinforce the growing convergence between telecommunications and financial services across Africa, where mobile operators are increasingly becoming critical drivers of financial inclusion.

Across many African countries, limited banking infrastructure and heavy reliance on cash transactions continue to create strong demand for mobile-led financial services.

Airtel Africa noted that limited access to formal financial services remains a major opportunity for Airtel Money’s expansion strategy.

The company’s digital push also reflects a broader shift in Africa’s fintech market, where telecom-led wallets are evolving into full-service digital finance platforms competing with banks and standalone fintech startups.

Airtel Africa had earlier disclosed plans to pursue an Airtel Money IPO, although the company later agreed with minority investors, including Mastercard and TPG’s Rise Fund, to defer certain shareholder put-option timelines by 12 months.

What used to be a near-total lock on the market is now slipping through M-PESA’s fingers. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) released fresh data confirming the downward trend, pointing to several key forces reshaping the sector: regulatory reforms, aggressive competition, and shifting customer priorities.

The biggest challenger is Airtel Money. Its market share has more than tripled in just two years, from 2.9% in 2023 to 9.1% in Q1 2025. Behind that growth is a focused, multi-pronged strategy. 

Airtel has cut transaction fees, refunded charges in airtime through Smarta Bundles, and struck key partnerships with retailers like Naivas to improve its agent network, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

Mobile money subscriptions jumped to 45.4 million during the quarter, accounting for 86.6% penetration in Kenya. SIM card subscriptions also rose to 76.2 million, up by 6.7%, aided by telcos’ renewed efforts to win back users. 

And Airtel is riding the wave. Its user base is now estimated at around 8 million, and its agent network is growing fast.

Even though M-PESA still has over 299,000 agents across the country, Airtel Money’s agent expansion is gaining pace. The total number of registered mobile money agents climbed 5.5% to 417,000 in Q1 2025, meaning challengers now have more reach than ever before.

Lower pricing is one of Airtel’s biggest weapons. To send KES 1,000 across networks, users pay KES 11 on Airtel, while M-PESA charges KES 13. Withdrawals cost less on Airtel too, KES 2 cheaper on average. These differences may seem small on paper, but for everyday users, they quickly add up.

The game-changer, though, was Kenya’s 2022 rollout of mobile money interoperability. That policy allowed people to send and receive money across different platforms, ending the long-standing advantage Safaricom had enjoyed by keeping its ecosystem closed. 

With those walls down, customers now move more freely, and Airtel has made it worth their while. Incentives like cashback on bank-to-wallet transfers are pulling users in.

Still, full freedom hasn’t arrived yet. Interoperability at the agent level, where users could walk into any mobile money outlet, regardless of network, is still pending. Once the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) rolls that out, and they’ve promised to, Safaricom may see even greater churn.

M-PESA isn’t going quietly. It still processes more than 30 billion transactions annually, worth over KES 38.29 trillion ($296 billion), and serves 34 million users. But it’s no longer operating in a vacuum.

Another major change is coming from the CBK’s new payments infrastructure, the Fast Payment System (FPS), which is under development. Inspired by India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the FPS aims to offer instant, cross-platform payments between banks, fintechs, and mobile money wallets. 

It’s being designed in partnership with India’s NPCI and, if successful, could radically reshape how digital money moves in Kenya.

By the time FPS is live, possibly by 2026, it may deliver what regulators and consumers alike have been waiting for: a truly level playing field.

The case for Kenya’s mobile money resilience is now about who adapts faster, and right now, Airtel is doing just that.