Fintech startup Payless Africa on June 28 suffered a shutdown that saw its operations severely disrupted.
In a statement, Payless dragged telco giant Safaricom noting that transactions to M-PESA had been disrupted.
The interruptions came at time Payless was celebrating reaching 100,000 customers, a significant milestone in the company’s growth.
Payless, a fintech company regulated and approved by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), has presented itself as platform providing affordable payment solutions tailored to African youth including Gen Z.
Payless Africa to Safaricom
“Shutting down Payless is shutting down the Kenyan spirit of innovation,” stated Payless in a statement
The company went on to emphasize its commitment to offering affordable and transparent services that give users full control of their money and personal data.
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Payless also urged Safaricom to promptly reinstate its API services to allow the company to continue serving its customers and supporting financial inclusivity in Kenya. In a subsequent post, Payless notified its customers that transaction services had been restored.
Safaricom Accusations
For the past week, Safaricom has been in the spotlight with allegations from Citizens that the telecom giant publicly shared customers’ private information.
The accusations, have gained significant traction online, sparking outrage particularly among the country’s youth leading to calls for a boycott of Safaricom’s services.
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Response from Safaricom
In a statement issued on June 25, Safaricom acknowledged the online conversations and concerns raised surrounding data privacy.
The company also clarified that it had not shared any of its customers’ information with any government agency.
“We respect our customers privacy and adhere strictly by the country’s data protection laws. As such we do not share any customer data unless explicitly required of us via a court order,” Safaricom said.
“On the current issue in discussion, we confirm that we have not received any court order requiring us to share customer information with any government agency.”
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