Safaricom eases Lipa na M-Pesa transactions

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By ANNIE NJANJA

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Summary

• Safaricom says the over 21 million active M-Pesa customers will no longer be required to share their mobile phone numbers or show transaction confirmation messages at purchase points.
• The telco upgraded targeted merchants with more than one Lipa a M-PESA payment points by offering them distinct till numbers, a shift from the previous situation where each shop had a single payment number.
• The telco upgraded targeted merchants with more than one Lipa a M-PESA payment points by offering them distinct till numbers, a shift from the previous situation where each shop had a single payment number.

Safaricom has upgraded its Lipa na M-Pesa system to enable customers make faster and private cashless payments at more than 2,500 sales points.

The telco Thursday said the over 21 million active M-Pesa customers will no longer be required to share their mobile phone numbers or show transaction confirmation messages at purchase points.

The telco upgraded targeted merchants with more than one Lipa a M-PESA payment points by offering them distinct till numbers, a shift from the previous situation where each shop had a single payment number.

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“Millions of customers and thousands of merchants increasingly prefer Lipa na M-PESA when it comes to payments,” said Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Safaricom Chief Financial Services Officer. “Our enhanced integration of Lipa na M-PESA for the more than 2,500 merchants will increase the speed and accuracy at which they process cashless payments while also benefiting our customers with increased privacy and accuracy when paying,” said Mr Lopokoiyot.

Safaricom also re-integrated till numbers of the merchants so that when a cashier selects M-Pesa as a mode of payment the merchant system reconciles the amount to the latest Lipa na M-Pesa payment received. This eliminates the need for the customer to give their mobile phone number or show a payment confirmation message.

Safaricom has introduced a number of technologies over the past 18 months including Tap-To-Pay and Scan-To-Pay for payments, both shorten the process of making payments.

Safaricom, in its latest earnings report, said the number of active Lipa na M-Pesa agents had increased to 109,000.