Airtel Money customers in Kenya can now pay for Google Play content directly from their mobile wallets following a new partnership between Google and Airtel Money. This adds another payment option for Kenyans to access premium features on various online apps.
At the launch of the partnership, Airtel Money Managing Director Anne Kinuthia-Otieno said Kenya has a well-established mobile money ecosystem. She said this is to make life more convenient for users by offering more payment options.
Google Play is the official digital distribution platform for Android devices where users can browse, download and purchase digital content including apps, games, books, movies and music. With online streaming and digital purchases on the rise, in-app transactions have gone up. TikTok’s advertising data shows that as of early 2025, the platform had 15.1 million users in Kenya aged 18 and above, many of whom make in-app purchases through Google Play.
Airtel Money has been working to grow its market share in Kenya. In the year ending September 2024, its market share grew from 2.9% to 7.6%. Free Airtel Money transfers has been one of the key drivers of this growth and this will continue with the Google Play partnership as payments made for apps via Airtel Money will not incur transaction fees.
Airtel Kenya, the parent company, has a 29.5% market share in the country. This was after a period of rapid growth including addition of 1.8 million new SIM subscriptions in the last year. The partnership with Google will further strengthen Airtel Money’s position in the mobile payments space.