SAFARICOM ENHANCES TRANSACTION SECURITY WITH PARTIAL NUMBER DISPLAY EFFECTIVE MARCH 24

Safaricom has announced the rollout of a new data minimization feature for M-PESA Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions, set to take effect on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. 

M-PESA customers sending money will notice that recipient phone numbers in transaction notifications will now be partially masked, displaying only the first four and last three digits (0722***000) instead of the full mobile number. The sender’s two names (First and last name- John Doe) will remain visible to ensure easy identification, while all transaction details stay unchanged to maintain transparency.

This enhancement aligns with global data minimisation principles and is designed to reduce the amount of personal information shared during daily transactions, thereby protecting customers from unwanted contact, spam and potential fraud.

For instances where a recipient needs to verify the sender’s identity, M-PESA has introduced a verification feature through the short code 334. Recipients can send the transaction message to request the sender’s full details.

The sender will then receive an SMS asking them to choose whether to share their full name and mobile number. If accepted, the recipient receives an SMS with the information; if declined, the recipient is notified of the decision. Each request is limited to one per transaction and is valid for 24 hours.

With 14.1 million daily active P2P customers, M-PESA facilitates 37 million peer-to-peer transactions daily out of a total 137.9 million daily transactions, representing a daily value of KSh 27 billion out of KSh 118 billion in total daily transactions. This latest privacy upgrade highlights Safaricom’s commitment to securing customer data while maintaining seamless service.