If you use Safaricom M-Pesa, you might want to wrap up your transactions early on the night of Monday, April 7, 2025. Safaricom will temporarily shut down M-Pesa services for planned system maintenance.
The downtime will hit during off-peak hours, but even a 30-minute window can throw your night off if you’re not prepared.
This move comes just weeks after a similar shutdown, raising questions about the reliability of the service. Read on to understand what’s happening, what’s affected, and how to prepare.
Safaricom M-Pesa to Experience Downtime During Late-Night Upgrade
Safaricom PLC has announced a scheduled maintenance on its popular mobile money service, M-Pesa. The downtime will occur in the early hours of Monday, April 7, 2025, from 1:00 AM to 1:30 AM. During this half-hour window, all M-Pesa services will function intermittently.
That means you may not be able to:
Send or receive money
Pay for goods and services
Access your M-Pesa account balance or statements
The telco giant issued the notice on Saturday, April 5, giving customers two days’ notice to plan ahead. Safaricom said the maintenance aims to enhance system performance and strengthen security.
In a statement, the company said: “To meet our promise of providing reliable, safe, and secure services, we will carry out scheduled system maintenance on the night of April 7 from 1:00 AM to 1:30 AM.”
The timing of the maintenance is deliberate. Safaricom wants to avoid disrupting customer activities by choosing a quiet time when fewer transactions happen.
What Services Will Still Work?
Only M-Pesa will go offline during the maintenance window. All other Safaricom services, including:
Voice calls
SMS
Internet and data services
… will remain active and unaffected.
Safaricom assured its users that this maintenance is part of an ongoing upgrade plan. The company said it regularly enhances its infrastructure to offer “a superior customer experience.”
It also apologized for any inconvenience and thanked customers for their trust. “We are continuously improving our services to connect you with endless possibilities.”
The telecom leader advised users to finish any important M-Pesa transactions before 1:00 AM on April 7. This includes sending money, paying bills, or checking balances.
Recurring Maintenance and Growing Competition
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Safaricom M-Pesa services have gone down. On March 24, 2025, the company conducted a similar 30-minute maintenance window at the exact same time—between 1:00 AM and 1:30 AM.
These repeated shutdowns signal increased efforts to fix or upgrade system features behind the scenes. While Safaricom says it’s all about reliability, the regular disruptions raise concerns among heavy users, especially businesses.
The announcement also follows new data from the Communications Authority of Kenya, which showed M-Pesa’s market share has been falling. As of Q4 2024, M-Pesa’s market share dropped for the fifth straight quarter, sliding 2.3 percentage points to 91%.
Meanwhile, Airtel Money gained ground, growing its share from 7.6% to 8.9%. If this trend continues, Safaricom may face stiffer competition in Kenya’s mobile money market.
