Equity Bank's newly acquired Mobile Virtual Network may just have a cut in its transaction costs by at least a half, being Kenya's second most profitable bank.

The newly acquired license will reduce transaction costs to sh7 from 14 charged by the bank agents though being the lowest transaction fee currently.

"The estimated cost of a mobile transaction is at sh7 and should reduce its cost to income ratio to 47 per cent by year end (from 49.5 per cent in 2013) 42 per cent in five years' time and 38 percent in 10 years' time."

Analysts however say the possibilities to cut the fee will depend on how many customers the  bank can get on its network, which will require heavy spending on infrastructure. The bank expects three million of its mobile banking customers to move to its network though this will be determined by the cost advantage it has over M-Pesa.

Equity still stands out as the largest bank by customer numbers with around 8.7 million while it agency network stands at 11,009.