This archive report was first published on 7 October 2021.
On October 7, 2021, a technical issue with M-Pesa, a mobile money service operated by Safaricom, caused a disruption in services affecting customers of several Kenyan banks.
Customers were unable to transfer funds between their M-Pesa and bank accounts, with some reporting that money was deducted from their bank account balances but not reflected on their M-Pesa balances.
Statements from banks attributed the disruption to a technical upgrade of the service being undertaken by Safaricom.
"Dear customer, due to an issue at Safaricom side following an upgrade, M-Pesa float and M-Pesa to Bank services are currently unavailable…We shall advise once the issue is resolved," a message sent to customers of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) read in part.
Similar messages were sent to customers of other banks in Kenya, including Equity Bank, Standard Chartered, and NCBA.
Notably, M-Pesa is a crucial service for businesses that accept payments sent via the mobile money service, with over 40 million customers spread across 10 countries.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, over 50% of Kenya's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is transacted over M-Pesa, making it Africa's largest fintech.
