Transactions worth over Sh1 trillion was done using mobile money services in the first half of the year, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has revealed in a new report.

CBK, in the new report showed an increase in the value of transactions on mobile platforms from Sh872.1 billion ($9.9 billion) in the first half of 2013 to Sh1.1 trillion ($12.5 billion) this year, a bulk of which is spread among Kenya’s major mobile money platforms; M-Pesa (Safaricom), yuCash, Airtel Money, MobiKash, Tangaza Pesa and Orange Money.

The value in the past five years has more than tripled; from Sh322.5 billion ($3.7 billion) in the first half of 2010 through to June this year.

Safaricom, owner of Kenya’s most successful mobile money platform, M-Pesa notes that the platform’s success has encouraged more Kenyans to get on board.

“I think that the early success of M-Pesa has encouraged ordinary citizens to have confidence in a concept that otherwise would have been difficult for them to comprehend or accept,” Business Daily quoted Bob Collymore, Safaricom chief executive as saying.

The growth in mobile money usage in Kenya, according to Collymore, is driven by an increase in the number of transactions per customer. 25.9 million people had subscribed to one mobile money platform or the other by the end of June, growing 9.2 percent over June 2013’s 23.75 million.

Kenya’s mobile money boom is expected to see a prolonged stay as it offers a more convenient form of money transfer than traditional money transfer.