Airtel Money Kenya is targeting small businesses with a new digital wallet called Bizna Wallet, launched on Monday, as it seeks to deepen customer engagement after growing its share of Kenya's mobile money market to 10.9%. The move signals a new phase in Airtel's challenge to Safaricom's dominant M-PESA platform, which has held an overwhelming majority of the market since launching in 2007 and fundamentally reshaping how Kenyans transact.

The launch comes as merchant payments emerge as one of the fastest-growing segments in Kenya's mobile money sector. Safaricom, which leads the market, more than doubled the number of merchants using its Pochi la Biashara product to 2.1 million in the financial year ended March, with revenue from the product surging 86% to KES 4 billion ($31 million). According to Safaricom's newsroom, these figures underscore how merchant services are becoming a significant growth engine, creating an opening for competitors that have previously concentrated on acquiring new users.

Airtel's customer base has grown steadily through lower transfer costs, expanded agent coverage, and bank partnerships. Airtel Africa, the London Stock Exchange-listed parent company, operates mobile money services across 14 countries, and Kenya represents one of its most competitive markets. The company reports that Airtel Money now serves more than six million customers through a network of 270,000 agents and over two million outlets. The competitive battleground has shifted from persuading customers to open wallets to making Airtel Money an essential tool for running their businesses.

Competing for Merchant Payments

Bizna Wallet is aimed at Kenya's informal economy, where many traders still rely on personal mobile money wallets to receive customer payments. The product offers a dedicated wallet for business income, enabling merchants to separate earnings from household spending without needing to open a separate bank account.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) employ more than 14.9 million people, contribute between 30% and 34% of Kenya's gross domestic product, and account for over 90% of private businesses, according to a 2026 study by Strathmore University Business School.

Many of these businesses — ranging from market traders and neighbourhood shops to salons and boda boda riders — depend on mobile money for receiving payments. However, a significant number continue to use personal wallets, making it harder to distinguish business income from household expenses, monitor cash flow, and keep accurate records.

"Our entrepreneurs need more than just a platform to send and receive money," said Michael Bonke, Acting Managing Director of Airtel Money Kenya. "They need a financial solution that will help them manage their day-to-day business activities."

Airtel confirmed that customers will not incur fees when transferring money into a Bizna Wallet, a pricing strategy designed to encourage wider adoption among small businesses. The product closely mirrors Safaricom's Pochi la Biashara, highlighting how merchant services have become the latest competitive frontier in Kenya's mobile money landscape. While earlier rivalry centred on transaction pricing and customer acquisition, attention is increasingly turning to boosting transaction volumes and merchant activity.

Platform Upgrade Supports Expansion

Bonke devoted much of the launch event to discussing Airtel Money's underlying technology rather than the product itself, highlighting a recent overhaul of the company's core payments platform.

"We've recently upgraded our Airtel Money system to allow us to have a faster go-to-market," he said.

According to Airtel, the investment has enabled the company to roll out products and partnerships more rapidly while improving reliability and security. In recent months, Airtel has deepened integrations with banks, retailers, and government agencies — including a partnership with KCB — allowing customers to move money between Airtel Money and all major Kenyan banks. These integrations build on the Central Bank of Kenya's longstanding push for greater interoperability across payment systems, which has gradually lowered barriers between competing mobile money networks and traditional banking. Bizna Wallet is among the first products built on the upgraded infrastructure.

Airtel paired the Bizna Wallet launch with modifications to its loyalty programme, replacing airtime rewards with cashback paid directly into customers' Airtel Money wallets. Eligible transactions — including person-to-person transfers, merchant payments, and bill payments — will now return 50% of transaction fees as cash instead of airtime.

"As I begin this new chapter as CEO of Airtel Kenya, I am honoured that one of my first engagements is the launch of Airtel Money Business Wallet and the 50% cashback programme," said Airtel Kenya CEO Djibril Tobe. "They reflect our commitment to empowering Kenyan businesses and advancing financial inclusion."

The cashback programme provides an incentive for customers to keep funds within Airtel Money and continue transacting, rather than immediately converting rewards into airtime or cashing out.

Safaricom still commands the vast majority of Kenya's mobile money market, but the rapid expansion of its merchant business has underscored where the sector's next growth opportunity lies. The Communications Authority of Kenya's sector statistics provide further context on market dynamics. As mobile money matures across East Africa, the ability to convert a growing user base into active, high-frequency merchants will likely determine which platforms capture the next phase of revenue growth.

True scale in this competitive landscape will require moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution across product, platform, and partnership layers.