Safaricom has rolled out a major overhaul of its M-PESA platform, introducing masked transaction details while simultaneously unveiling plans for a new all-in-one mobile application, marking a significant shift in Kenya’s digital financial ecosystem.
The latest update targets the widely used “Send Money” service, where recipients will now see partially hidden phone numbers and limited personal details of senders. Instead of displaying full numbers, transaction messages will show a masked format such as 0722***100, alongside only two names.
The move affects person-to-person transfers, which account for 64 per cent of all M-PESA activity, with over 37 million transactions processed daily across the platform.
Until now, each transaction revealed a sender’s full name and phone number, a feature that, while useful for verification, exposed users to risks such as data harvesting, unsolicited marketing, and fraud.
Safaricom says the update aligns with Kenya’s Data Protection Act 2019 and reflects a broader principle of data minimisation – limiting the amount of personal information shared to only what is necessary.
“At its core, the policy reflects a principle increasingly embedded in global privacy frameworks: that systems should collect and display only the minimum personal data required to fulfil a function,” the company noted.
By masking sensitive details, Safaricom aims to prevent fraudsters from extracting phone numbers from transaction messages and using them for scam calls or social engineering schemes.
To address concerns around verification, the company has introduced a consent-based system accessible via short code 334. This allows recipients to request full details from the sender, who can then approve or decline the request.
“The sender receives an SMS asking whether they wish to disclose their name and number in full; if they agree, the recipient receives the information,” Safaricom explained, adding that each request expires after 24 hours to enhance user control.
The update builds on a series of privacy-focused measures introduced over the years, including data minimisation in merchant payments, statements, and internal systems – positioning M-PESA as a leader in “privacy by design” within Africa’s fintech space.
Beyond privacy, Safaricom is also reimagining the future of its digital services through the upcoming “My OneApp,” a unified platform set to merge the M-PESA app and MySafaricom app into a single “super app.”
Unveiled at a recent tech forum, the app aims to eliminate the need for users to switch between multiple platforms to access services such as payments, airtime purchase, bill payments, and account management.
“We love the apps, we love the features, but we don’t love the switch,” Safaricom said, highlighting fragmentation as a key challenge the new platform seeks to address.
The OneApp will feature AI-powered personalisation, enabling it to adapt to user behavior by prioritizing frequently used contacts, suggesting preferred services, and surfacing commonly used features on the home screen.
Additionally, the platform will expand beyond traditional telecom services to include savings and credit tools, entertainment content, mini-apps, and self-service options such as PIN resets and customer support.
As Kenya’s mobile money ecosystem continues to evolve, Safaricom’s dual strategy of enhancing privacy while expanding digital integration, signals a broader shift toward more secure, user-centric financial services.
