Tanzania Mobile Money Fees Explained

The Quoted Fee Already Includes Both Taxes

The fee an operator quotes already has the 10% excise duty and 18% VAT inside it, so there is nothing to add at the till. The quoted figure is the figure you pay for the transaction. A reader who adds both taxes again will overstate the cost. Only the withdrawal levy sits outside the quoted fee, and it applies to cash out at an agent.

Sending Costs Less Than Cash Withdrawals

Sending money to another person, across networks, or to a bank account carries no government levy, so the quoted fee is the whole cost. Withdrawing cash at an agent is different: the agent adds a banded government levy on top of the operator's fee. That difference is why cash out is the more expensive direction. The levy applies to the withdrawal, not to the transfer.

Comparing Operators on the Same Amount

The same amount can rank differently depending on the direction and the band it falls into. One operator may be cheaper for a small send, while another wins on a larger withdrawal, so a single ranking cannot cover every case. The comparison tool applies your exact amount to each operator's recorded charges and shows both directions. That is a fairer comparison than a general claim about who is cheapest.

Where the Fee Figures Come From

The comparison uses each operator's own charges, checked on the date shown on this page. Only Mixx by Yas publishes its tariff as a document you can read yourself; its Customer Tariffs, with fees from 01 July 2025, is linked below. For M-Pesa, Airtel, T-Pesa and HaloPesa the operators publish no equivalent table, so confirm the current charge with them before relying on any figure here.

Check Current Charges Before a Large Transfer

These fee bands are a snapshot, and operators change their charges, so a figure that was right when this page was checked may already be out of date. Before a large transfer or a large withdrawal, confirm the current charge with your operator through the app, a printed tariff, or an agent's posted rates. That check takes a minute and avoids a surprise at the confirmation screen. Treat the comparison as a guide to how operators differ, not as a live tariff.

The Five Operators This Site Compares

The comparison covers five operators: M-Pesa, Airtel Money, Mixx by Yas, T-Pesa and HaloPesa. M-Pesa sends now start at 10 TZS, and small sends are often cheapest on T-Pesa and HaloPesa. The cheapest withdrawal depends on the operator and the amount, so no single operator wins every case. Enter your amount in the comparison tool to see how all five rank for the direction you need.

Fatuma's two transactions, in full

Withdrawing 10,000 TZS from M-Pesa at an agent costs about 1,552 TZS (fee 1,450 + withdrawal levy 102), so you'd receive about 8,448 TZS. Sending 50,000 TZS via Airtel Money costs 680 TZS (tax already included), so you'd pay 50,680 TZS.

Fatuma sells produce at Kariakoo market in Dar es Salaam and does both of these most weeks: she sends money to a supplier, and she takes cash out at an agent to pay for stock. The two transactions below are hers.

What the comparison does not capture

The table compares published tariffs for sending and withdrawing, not the full experience. It does not measure agent availability, the cash a particular agent holds, network reliability at the time you need it, transaction limits, or the value of a float balance. A cheaper operator with no nearby agent can cost more in time and transport than a slightly dearer one. Use the comparison to shortlist, then check the agent network and the limit for your amount before switching.

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Tanzania Mobile Money Fees Explained FAQs