Safaricom has announced a new data minimization enhancement on M-PESA aimed at strengthening customer privacy in person-to-person (P2P) transactions.
The update, unveiled during a briefing at the Michael Joseph Centre, will go live on March 24, 2026.
The move is part of ongoing efforts to protect customer information while maintaining the seamless experience that millions of users rely on daily.
Speaking at the event, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa stated that data protection is a national responsibility, not just the organization’s.
With Safaricom now capable of enabling 6000 transactions per second, it is embracing Artificial intelligence to minimize fraud.
M-PESA currently records about 14.1 million daily active P2P users, facilitating approximately 37 million transactions each day, with a daily value of about KSh 27 billion.
Safaricom Data Minimization in Protecting Customer Privacy
Safaricom Head of Customer Privacy and Data Protection, Sharon Holi, emphasized that Safaricom started customer data privacy in 2020 through Pochi La Biashara Merchant, where the customer’s name is only displayed in a message.
Also Read: Safaricom Explains Why M-Pesa Transaction Fees Are Not Reversed
In 2021, Safaricom enhanced its customer internal staff to minimize data viewing, where the Safaricom staff could not see all data belonging to a customer.
Data protection was also enhanced in 2022 when Safaricom masked Mobile numbers in M-Pesa statements.
Later in 2023 and 2024, Buy Goods and Paybill Application Programming Interface (API) Data Minimization was enhanced, with large organizations integrating with Buy Goods and the C2B API.
Safaricom has now been approved by regulators, including the Central Bank of Kenya, to mask phone numbers in person-to-person (P2P) transactions.
Currently, the feature is at the education stage, where customers are informed about it and why data should be protected. The feature will now go live on March 24, 2026.
Under the new update, M-PESA Send Money notifications will display a partially masked phone number instead of the full mobile number, and only names will be displayed.
The middle three digits of the mobile number will be masked, for example, 0722***000 instead of the full phone number.
Verification Option Introduced for Transactions
Customers will also have the option to share their full contact details with recipients when necessary. This introduces an added layer of control, allowing users to decide when and how their personal information is disclosed.
To complement the privacy enhancement, Safaricom has introduced a recipient verification process through a dedicated short code.
Recipients who wish to confirm the identity of a sender can forward the transaction message to 334.
The sender will then receive a notification requesting consent to share their full name and mobile number.
If approved, the recipient receives the full details via SMS. If declined, they are notified of the sender’s decision.
Each verification request is limited to one per transaction and remains valid for 24 hours.
The data minimization feature is part of Safaricom’s broader push to embed privacy across the M-PESA ecosystem.
Also Read: Safaricom to Launch Feature That Allows Someone to Spend Directly from Your M-PESA
Why Safaricom Has Enhanced Data Minimization
Safaricom aims to reduce risks such as fraud, spam, and social engineering, while reinforcing customer confidence in the platform.
- Enhanced Privacy – Customers’ full phone numbers are not fully exposed, reducing unnecessary sharing of personal information.
- Reduced Unwanted Calls and Messages – Masked numbers prevent recipients from easily capturing them, helping curb spam calls, marketing messages, and harassment after transactions.
- Protection Against Fraud and Social Engineering – Fraudsters often collect visible phone numbers to attempt scams; masking limits the data they can exploit.
- Data Minimization Compliance – The approach aligns with global privacy principles and regulations by displaying only essential personal information.
- Customer Trust and Confidence – Users feel safer transacting when their personal contact details are better protected.
