Safaricom has introduced M-PESA Split Notifications, a merchant solution that lets businesses using M-PESA Till and Paybill numbers share payment alerts with nominated employees without exposing sensitive customer or business information.
The service, which runs through the M-PESA Jumbe messaging platform, addresses the challenge for merchants to confirm customer payments.
“Split Notifications was introduced to solve problems for staff who had no way to confirm payments without calling the owner or asking customers to show their personal M-PESA SMS. Owners were constantly disrupted to verify payments, and Customers showing their standard SMS were exposing personal data,” Safaricom noted.
Under the new system, three separate SMS notifications are triggered whenever a customer makes a payment.
According to Safaricom, merchants can access the feature through USSD by dialing *234# and via the Merchant Business Hub (MBH).
How M-PESA Split Notifications Work
The notification system separates the information received by merchants, employees and customers.
Safaricom clarified that the merchant’s Primary Number continues receiving the standard full M-PESA transaction notification.
On the other hand, nominated employees receive a limited Jumbe alert containing the transaction reference, amount, business name, short code, customer’s JumbeID, and transaction date and time.
However, the staff notifications do not disclose the merchant’s M-PESA balance, transaction history or PIN.
In addition, the notifications also exclude the customer’s full name and phone number.
While using the M-PESA Jumbe feature, customers will receive an additional Jumbe receipt alongside their standard M-PESA confirmation SMS.
“ When a customer pays, three SMS messages are triggered—a full notification to the merchant, a limited alert to nominated staff, and a privacy-safe receipt to the customer—all via the M-PESA Jumbe messaging service,” Safaricom directs.
The receipt includes the payment amount, transaction reference, and JumbeID, allowing them to show proof of payment without exposing personal information.
A JumbeID is a privacy alias generated using the customer’s first initial, last initial, and the last two digits of their phone number, according to the service providers.
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Requirements and How to Activate the Feature
Safaricom has emphasized that only the Admin role, identified as the Primary Operator or Nominated Number, can activate Split Notifications for a shortcode.
Before first-time activation, the Admin must accept the Terms & Conditions for the particular shortcode.
Acceptance is mandatory, and merchants must accept the updated terms whenever Safaricom changes them. All acceptances are recorded for audit purposes.
How to Activate M-PESA Split Notifications via *234#
- Dial: *234#
- Select: Your Till or Paybill shortcode.
- Accept: Terms & Conditions.
- Nominate: Enter the staff member’s name and Safaricom number.
- Authenticate: Enter your M-PESA PIN.
- Receive: Staff receives an SMS with an acceptance code.
- Confirm: Staff dial the USSD code in the SMS and enter the acceptance code.
However, Safaricom explained that the M-PESA Jumbe supports only active Safaricom lines registered on M-PESA.
Merchants can add up to 50 recipients per short code; both active and suspended recipients count toward the limit, while deleted recipients do not.
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Managing Nominated Staff on M-PESA Jumbe Feature
Once activated, Business Managers and Operators can manage recipients subject to maker-checker approval rules.
Merchants can suspend employees who should temporarily stop receiving payment notifications, with suspension taking effect immediately.
Further, merchants can reactivate suspended employees without requiring consent again.
“Suspended recipients stop receiving notifications immediately but remain on the list and count toward the 50-recipient limit. They can be reactivated without needing to re-consent,” the service provider states.
Nominated employees can also manage their own notification preferences directly through USSD without involving the merchant.
Where an employee does not accept an invitation within the defined period, the nomination expires, and no notifications are sent.
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