Ever since the National Payments Systems Act 2020 and National Payments Systems Regulation 2021, mobile money services from both MTN Group LTD and Airtel Uganda became a different entity from the SMS, voice, and data businesses and by law became regulated by the Central Bank of Uganda. This means regulations regarding transaction limits i.e. maximum and minimum payouts or wallet balances are managed by BOU.
The good news today for individuals who want to do more with their mobile money accounts but are always limited due to the transaction limits is that BOU has increased the transaction limits on both MTN MoMo and Airtel Money effective Tuesday, March 1st, 2022. In this article, you will learn about the new rates and what has changed, let’s dive into it. Shall we?
Mobile Money Old Transaction Limits
To fully comprehend and digest what has changed, it’s always better to look at existing infrastructure to appreciate what is changing. Here are the old and still current mobile money transaction limits on both Airtel money and MTN MoMo until 1st March 2022;
| Description of Limits | MTN MoMo (UGX) | Airtel Money (UGX) |
| Minimum amount to send | 500 | 500 |
| Daily Transaction Limit | 7,000,000 | 7,000,000 |
| Maximum Account Balance | 15,000,000 | 12,500,000 |
| Minimum Account Balance | 0 | 0 |
What Has Changed?
The maximum daily account balance sees a 33% increase from 15,000,00UGX to 20,000,000UGX and newer limits like maximum single transaction are introduced and capped at 5,000,000UGX. It’s worth noting that the daily maximum transfer amount got the biggest increase ever to 20,000,000UGX from 7,000,000UGX.
READ ALSO: What Happens to Dormant Mobile Money Accounts in Uganda?
The introduction of capping a single transaction at 5 Million shillings, means an individual will have to withdraw 4 times a day to reach the maximum daily transfer limits.
New Mobile Money Transaction Limits
| Description of Limits | MTN MoMo (UGX) |
|---|---|
| Maximum single transaction | 5,000,000 |
| Maximum Daily Transfer | 20,000,000 |
| Maximum Daily account balance | 20,000,000 |
It’s worth noting that only MTN MoMo and MTN Group Uganda LTD have been the only telecom so far that come out and confirm the new arrangements from the Bank of Uganda regarding the new transaction limits. We believe Airtel Uganda will follow suit and we will end up updating the article with the new rates as well.
In the meantime, let us know in the comment sections your thoughts on these new transaction limits and if you are happy about it.
