Safaricom Tightens M-PESA Privacy, Limits Personal Data Exposure in Transactions
The initiative underscores the company’s commitment to reinforcing privacy, reducing fraud risks, and building a more secure digital financial environment for its customers.
Dr. Peter Ndegwa, Group CEO of Safaricom PLC, has announced a new privacy-focused enhancement to M-PESA as the platform marks its 19th anniversary. The update reflects Safaricom’s continued efforts to strengthen customer trust across its widely used mobile financial service, which now serves over 40 million users.
According to Dr. Ndegwa, the new feature is designed to address growing customer concerns around data privacy by minimizing the personal information shared during “Send Money” transactions. Under the update, recipients will only see limited details of the sender, reducing unnecessary exposure of sensitive personal data while maintaining a smooth transaction experience.
The enhancement also introduces a consent-based information-sharing process. If a recipient requires the sender’s full details, they can request this within 24 hours of the transaction. The sender will then receive a prompt seeking approval to share their full name and mobile number. If the sender consents, the information will be shared via SMS; if declined or left unanswered within two hours, the request will automatically expire.
Safaricom plans to roll out the feature by the end of the month, with a phased expansion across the broader M-PESA ecosystem. The initiative underscores the company’s commitment to reinforcing privacy, reducing fraud risks, and building a more secure digital financial environment for its customers.
