As of the end of June 2022, customers making payments through Lipa na M-Pesa will have their full details hidden, a move aimed at enhancing their security.
This change is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2019, which came into effect on 25th November 2019, and requires organizations handling sensitive customer data, including Safaricom and its Lipa Na M-PESA Partners, to minimize the use and transfer of such data.
Under the new system, only the first name and a few digits of the customer’s phone number will be displayed while making payments, in a bid to curb the trading of personal information to fraudsters.
According to Safaricom, at the end of June, phone numbers and full names of subscribers making transactions will no longer be relayed to partners. Only the first name will be passed along, and the phone number of the subscriber making the transaction will be masked.
Previously, the message would have appeared as OB57V1MMEV You have received Ksh 1,000.00 from Jane Rita Doe 254721345654 on 3/5/20 at 6:23 New M-PESA balance is Ksh2,345.00. However, with the new update, it will appear as OB57V1MMEV You have received Ksh 1,000.00 from Jane 2547XXXXX654 on 3/5/20 at 6:23 New M-PESA balance is Ksh2,345.00.
