M-Pesa’s Privacy Overhaul: Phone Numbers Hidden in Paybill and Buy Goods Transactions
Safaricom is rolling out a major update approved by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), masking full phone numbers for M-Pesa users during Paybill and Buy Goods payments to enhance privacy.
According to the CBK’s National Payments Strategy 2022–2025, the bank outlined a data protection framework tailored for digital payments, committing to facilitating the development of a framework for financial data protection.
“The focus will be on enhancing safeguards on how payment data is collected, stored and shared. The overall objective will be to ensure payments data is used safely and securely to enhance a user’s privacy, reducing fraud and facilitating positive elements such as use of data to enhance security, innovation, access to new services and customer-centricity approaches,” the strategy read in part.
This shift ends the era of merchants seeing complete sender details, aligning with Kenya’s Data Protection Act amid rising cyber concerns.
Why the Change Happened
The CBK greenlit the feature to curb data misuse, where merchants previously accessed full numbers for unsolicited marketing or fraud. This notes this boosts user trust in digital payments, vital for Kenya’s 30 million+ M-Pesa users.
It responds to complaints about spam and identity theft, standardizing transactions like Lipa na M-Pesa without exposing personal info.
What Users Will Notice
Instead of full numbers (e.g., 07XXXXXXXX), merchants see masked versions like 07XX4XXXXX, retaining confirmation codes but blocking direct contact.
The payment process remains unchanged; the update only limits the amount of personal data that travels with each transaction.
Safaricom had previously applied similar privacy measures in its Pochi la Biashara service, as users access transaction details with the phone numbers unrevealed.
CBK’s approval now extends this protection the all Mpesa merchant transactions.
Buy Goods (Tills) and Paybills remain free for customers, but businesses must adapt systems Safaricom aids via app updates.
This coverage ties this to 2026 tariff tweaks, like KSh500,000 daily limits, urging users to check SMS confirmations for disputes. Small vendors worry about follow-ups, but experts hail it for cutting harassment.
Opt-in via *234#, with reversals still at 456 expect rollout soon for safer wallets.