This archive report was first published on 26 July 2021.
Published on July 26, 2021, Safaricom is set to introduce a feature that will hide customer identity to curb fraud.
The new feature, aimed at protecting customer data, will conceal contact details when making lipa na M-PESA transactions, similar to how banks block account numbers during transactions.
This move comes in the wake of a scandal where companies were found to be sharing customer data with advertisers and third parties without consent, a violation of the 2019 data protection law.
According to a survey by Ernst & Young (EY), a fifth of Kenyan companies have been found to have violated data protection laws, with 41% of firms transferring customer data to third-party service providers, and over half of these companies doing so without customer approval.
Speaking to Business Daily, a Safaricom executive revealed the plan, stating: 'The plan is to hide your number where it will display say the first two or three numbers and the last ones and block out the middle, just the way banks do.'
With the risk of data breaches on the rise, this new feature is expected to reduce data fraud and provide a safer way to transact money.
