Although the Kenyan government raised mobile money transaction fees earlier this year, the most recent figures show that mobile payments have increased nearly 22 percent year-on-year, according to Ventures, citing a report by the Central Bank of Kenya.

The 10-percent excise tax went into effect in February, and transactions dipped for a couple months before picking up again; August transactions grew to Sh168.1 billion ($1.98 billion U.S.), the site said, an all-time high.

According to Ventures, Kenya has 23.2 million mobile money subscribers who transact across six platforms — M-Pesa, MobiKash, Airtel Money, yuCash, Orange Money and Tangaza — backed by a network of more than 108,000 agents.

Safaricom, which services more than 17 million of the 23 million M-Pesa subscribers, has recently partnered with Western Union to allow Kenyan subscribers to receive remittances from 45 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Germany, Ventures said.

Since its introduction in Kenya in 2008, mobile money has grown from Sh166.5 billion ($1.96 billion) recorded transactions in 2008 to Sh1.5 trillion in 2012 ($17.7 billion), the site said.

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