It’s been an interesting week in Kenya, with several high profile announcements between banks and mobile operators:

• The second largest mobile money service — Zap — tied up with Housing Finance bank.
• Safaricom and Equity Bank announced a tie-up which enables M-PESA’s 8.5 million users to withdraw funds at Equity’s 550 ATMs (the largest ATM network in the country), which may help relieve some problems of agents not having cash.
• Equity made a tie-up in Dec. with Essar, who bought the 4th mobile license in Kenya last year and recently launched the 3rd mobile banking service in the country. Equity’s branches will serve as agents for its service YU. However, this is all one way to withdraw from a mobile wallet at a bank’s ATMs. Bank customers can’t yet go to an agent and withdraw money from their bank account. But that’s coming soon….

It’s not just banks and telecom firms in the headlines. This week, the Central Bank of Kenya plans to distribute for comment draft regulations which will finally enable banks to use agents (about 3 years since Safaricom started using agents for its M-PESA service).

-Mark Pickens