When your phone number is part of your identity, one way or another your will end up paying debt to be able to use the number at peace. Plus they lend small amounts so its not really hard to pay up but the masses, ease and repeat customers will assure them of revenues

Plus they can forward your name to the credit bureau.

You would have to be nuts to let that happen because of a few hundreds or thousands.

iam more worried about kcb giving upto 1m than safcoms airtime

M-Pesa customers get access to seven African countries

Mpesa trying to link up north, west, east and south money pool in africa! Fantastic. Money velocity will be incredible when it builds momentum. Now add India into the mix and maybe chinaland in future and you have an incredible case study for years! Banks can no longer ignore this; they have to partner with the disruptor. Western union and moneygram saw it coming and partnered.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/apr/16/mobile-money-m-pesa-india-kenya-development

in other news...

A factory worker in Mumbai is about to settle down to a snack of samosas and chai when he gets a call from his wife in Uttar Pradesh who complains she is out of cash. No problem he says, and hangs up to send a transfer via text message. This is the latest ad for M-Pesa mobile money in India - part of a strategic campaign to target migrant workers.

M-Pesa launched in India two years ago, but so far it hasn’t had the huge impact it made in Kenya. In September 2014 M-Pesa had 370,000 users in India, where Vodafone, who provide the service, has 173 million customers. This is despite the country having huge potential in this area, with high mobile penetration and millions lacking bank services.

Mobile money was so successful in Kenya because of a combination of government support and consumer demand, which was driven by the need for secure cash transactions during political instability, says research from the University of Manchester. World Bank economist Wolfgang Fengler adds that having a mobile operator (Safaricom) with more than 50% market share also helped.

As access to financial services is recognised as key for ending poverty, how can mobile money be be encouraged in more developing countries? Do governments need to do more to support it? What’s the best way to educate users about the value of the service? Join an expert panel on Thursday 23 April, 1-3pm BST to discuss.

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The live chat is not video or audio-enabled but will take place in the comments section (below). Get in touch via globaldevpros@theguardian.com or@GuardianGDP on Twitter to recommend someone for our expert panel. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #globaldevlive.

thanks, will livestream the whole event

lets give them credit for accounting efficiency and consistent results dates.

Profit before Tax at ksh.42bn
Dividend at 55 cents due to additional cash needed to implement the security surveillance system and acquisition of YU infrastructure