Relief for M-pesa users as Safaricom rolls out faster, secure platform
M-pesa users are set to enjoy faster transactions beginning next week as Safaricom is set to launch a new system on Monday Mid-night.
The new system, dubbed Fintech 2.0 is expected to have new features with the wallet powered by AI making the transactions better.
Speaking during media immersion ahead of the Monday midnight launch, Safaricom Chief Finance Officer Esther Waititu said part of the solutions being brought by the new system is curbing fraudulent sim swaps that have become rampant in recent times.
She added that the core platform is designed to strengthen resilience, expand capacity, and unlock advanced AI-driven innovation.
“The upgrade is a bold investment in the future of M-PESA and reaffirmation of our commitment to innovation, resilience and customer trust. By moving to Fintech 2.0, we are unlocking a platform that not only scales to meet today’s demands but also anticipates tomorrow’s opportunities,” she stated.
Explaining how they’ll be leveraging on the AI features which shall be introduced in the Fintech 2.0 to detect and solve fraud cases, Agnes Magero who heads the enterprise risk at Safaricom said, the Anti-fraud team will be now at the core M-Pesa team responding to reported cases instantly.
She revealed that with AI, they’ll even be able to note the genuine and fraudulent sim-swaps being stopped immediately and protecting their customers.
“Our anti-fraud team shall be responding to cases hands-on as our commitment has been to the customers in terms of protection. It’s hands-on because with AI, they’ll be able to know where the fraud is taking place and responding appropriately. With this we hope the cases greatly reduce,” she stated.
On expanding the minimum transactions in a day, Waititu said the regulator (the Central Bank of Kenya) has the mandate and they hope it shall be making favorable considerations soon.
With security assurance in place and having already been approved by CBK, the new M-PESA Core will expand capacity from 4,500 to 6,000 transactions per second, with the potential to scale up to 12,000 transactions as demand grows.
It will also introduce an active-active architecture across multiple hosting sites, guaranteeing higher resilience and minimal service interruption.
Its cloud-native foundation ensures higher performance, instant scalability, and faster deployment of new products.
‘The launch of Fintech 2.0 is designed to sustain this growth and prepare the platform for the future, enabling Safaricom to deliver smarter, faster and more secure financial solutions to individuals and businesses alike,” Waititu added.
Safaricom M-pesa customers have already been notified of the upcoming upgrade as the telecommunication giant apologized for innconviniencies that shall be experienced during the cutover which is expected to last for three hours between 00:30am and 03:30 am on Monday.
