Kenya’s leading mobile phone operator Safaricom has announced it will increase charges for banks using its M-Pesa platform to transfer funds from customers’ bank accounts to third parties’ mobile money wallets.

In a statement Wednesday, the firm said the new charges would take effect on December 1, 2015. Customers of 30 commercial banks and 160 financial institutions will be affected by the move.

“This will allow banks and financial institutions ample time to communicate to their customers about the service,” said Stephen Chege, Safaricom's director of corporate affairs.

“We have already (applied) and received the requisite approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).”

Safaricom has been charging a flat rate of between Ksh33 ($0.31) on banks who then load their transaction charges on the customer.

This is with the exception of Equity Bank’s Equitel customers whose tariffs for third party transactions have been increased on a graduated scale from Ksh22 ($0.2) for small amounts between Ksh50 ($0.47) and Ksh1,000 ($9.47) to a high of Ksh110 ($1.04) for amounts between Ksh20,001($189.51) and Ksh70,000 ($663.54).

READ: Safaricom increases charges to Equitel customers

A check with one commercial bank revealed a high flat rate of Ksh55 ($0.52) per transaction was charged on customers regardless of the receiver of the money.

M-Pesa charges that will now apply range from Ksh1 for amounts as low as Ksh1 (1 US cent) to Ksh110 ($1.1) for registered users and between Ksh44 (44 US cents and Ksh303 ($3.03) for unregistered users. Registered users are allowed to move between Ksh10 (10 US cents) and Ksh70,000 ($700) but unregistered users can only receive between Ksh100 ($1) and Ksh35,000 ($350).

A number of banks and financial institutions are using the existing M-Pesa infrastructure to extend the transfer of funds from customers’ bank accounts to third party M-Pesa wallets (Bank-to-Many).

Since the inception of M-Pesa in 2007, Safaricom has partnered with over 30 banks and more than 160 other financial institutions to allow customers to move funds from their bank accounts to their M-Pesa wallets.

“This service, like any other service on our platform, will attract charges,” said Mr Chege.

“The charges that we will implement are similar to what applies for P2P M-Pesa transactions (sending M-Pesa from one customer to another),” he explained.

The firm has already written to partner banks and financial institutions notifying them of the new charges.

“This is a new service, and not a revision of any existing charges,” said Mr Chege.