Airtel Money issue a 12-hour system ‘collapse’ alert from May 3 to May 4, 2025
Airtel service provider has issued a 12-hours red alert network disruption for all Airtel Money subscribers that will occasion a total system shutdown and render all Airtel Money services unavailable.
In a public notice, the service provider said that among the services that will be affected include sending and receiving money, bank transfers, bill payments and agent withdrawals.
In a statement yesterday, April 29, 2025, Airtel Kenya said the upgrade is aimed at improving customer experience and rolling out new, innovative services.
Airtel Kenya Chief Executive Officer Ashish Malhotra’s led entity termed the shutdown as second and final phase of system upgrade.
“Following our notice on April 6, 2025, we will be conducting the second and last phase of our Airtel Money system upgrade designed to enhance customer experience and improve our capabilities that will deliver more innovative products and solutions,” the mobile service provider stated.
“This last phase is scheduled for May 3, 2025, from 11:00 pm to May 4, 2025, 11:00 am. During this time, all Airtel Money services will be unavailable.”
The system outage is expected to occasion commercial and other business loses but the subscribers have been notified to plan accordingly to forestall such an eventuality.
In 2018, High Court Judge Justice John Mativo dismissed a case filed by an Airtel mobile service subscriber who was seeking Sh3million compensation from Airtel for network disruptions.
Leonard Otieno had sued the mobile network company seeking Sh3million in what he claimed was breach of contract.
But in his ruling, Justice Mativo found that his claims were not supported by evidence.
Otieno had claimed sometime last year that he was unable to communicate with his family, friends and professional colleagues and could not access Airtel money, something which he blamed on network failure.
But Justice Mativo said the man did not call a technician to ascertain whether the SIM card was the cause of the problem.
Yesterday, Ashish’s led entity apologised for any inconvenience that will be occasioned by the upgrade exercise.
“We understand that the downtime may cause temporary inconvenience, and we sincerely apologise for the disruption,” the company said.
To cushion customers from the inconvenience, Airtel has announced a 100 per cent cashback (Rudishiwa) offer on transaction fees in the form of airtime.
This will apply to Bank to Airtel Money transactions, Paybill payments, and Agent Withdrawals made once services resume and will be valid until midnight on May 4, 2025.
The upgrade reflects a broader trend among mobile money providers seeking to modernise infrastructure to support faster, safer, and more versatile services for their growing user base.
