The telco M-Pesa shops will not accept the old Ksh1,000 banknotes from next week.
Kenya telecoms giant has announced that its M-Pesa shops will not accept the old Ksh1,000 ($10) banknotes from next week.
“Dear customer, you will no longer be able to transact with the old generation Ksh 1000 note after 30/09/2019,” read the message to its subscribers on Thursday.
It added, "Please deposit at your nearest M-Pesa agent today!"
The Central Bank of Kenya in June announced that it demonetising the Ksh1,000 notes, effective October 1, to deal with illicit financial flows and counterfeits.
“By Gazette Notice No. 4849 of May 31, 2019, all the older Ksh1,000 banknotes shall be withdrawn and will cease to be legal tender on October 1, 2019. All other denominations are unaffected and will continue to circulate alongside the New Generation banknotes,” the CBK said at the time.
Safaricom is Kenya’s largest and most profitable mobile network operator.