Kenya’s mobile-money subscriptions reached 54 million by June, extending the country’s long-running shift toward mobile-based payments and financial services.

Mobile-money subscriptions increased 13.2% during the 2025/26 financial year to 54.01 million, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya.

The figure represented a penetration rate of 101.3%.The penetration rate above 100% reflects subscriptions rather than unique individuals, meaning one person can have more than one mobile-money account or subscription.

The expansion of mobile money is occurring alongside broader growth in Kenya’s telecommunications market. Active mobile subscriptions reached almost 88 million by June, while smartphone connections climbed to 52.26 million.

Mobile data subscriptions reached 64.26 million, up 9.7% from a year earlier, giving consumers greater access to applications and online services through mobile networks.

The combination is reinforcing the role of the mobile phone as a financial-services platform.Kenya’s mobile-money market remains highly concentrated.

Safaricom had an 88.8% share of mobile-money transfers at the end of June, according to the regulator. The company also held 69.8% of mobile subscriptions and 64.4% of mobile broadband subscriptions.The growth of mobile money has also become increasingly important to telecom operators’ revenue models.Kenya’s mobile-service revenue rose 3.6% to KSh440.9 billion in 2025.

The largest revenue category was “other services,” which accounted for 42.8% of total mobile-service revenue and includes mobile money, roaming, bulk SMS and airtime credit.

Data accounted for 28.2%, voice for 25.6% and SMS for 3.4%.The figures illustrate the changing economics of telecommunications in Kenya. Voice and SMS remain important services, but financial services and data are becoming a larger part of the commercial value generated by mobile networks.

The growth of mobile money is also taking place as smartphone adoption accelerates. Kenya had 52.26 million smartphones connected to mobile networks by June, compared with 27.42 million feature phones.

The Communications Authority said smartphone uptake has been supported by the expansion of 4G and 5G networks.Mobile broadband subscriptions reached 54.93 million, representing 85.5% of total mobile data subscriptions.

The regulator said 4G was the most adopted broadband technology and that mobile data consumption across 4G and 5G networks continued to rise.

The country’s communications habits are changing alongside its payment habits. Domestic SMS traffic declined 0.3% during the financial year to 57.1 billion messages, with the regulator linking part of the decline to internet-based messaging services such as WhatsApp.

For Kenya’s financial and telecommunications industries, the continued expansion of mobile money places payments at the center of an increasingly digital mobile ecosystem.

The latest figures show that mobile money is no longer simply an additional service attached to telecommunications networks. It has become one of the largest components of the economic activity taking place through Kenya’s mobile infrastructure.