{"id":833545,"date":"2026-03-18T08:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T08:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/833545\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T08:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T08:04:16","slug":"safaricom-to-mask-senders-mobile-number-on-m-pesa-to-curb-fraud-nuisance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/833545\/","title":{"rendered":"Safaricom to mask sender\u2019s mobile number on M-Pesa to curb fraud, nuisance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa\/HANDOUT<\/b><\/p>\n

Safaricom has introduced a data minimisation feature on its mobile money platform, M-Pesa, to enhance user privacy by masking customer phone numbers during transactions.<\/p>\n

The plan is scheduled for rollout on March 24 after receiving approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).<\/p>\n

This update masks numbers for Till, PayBill, and peer-to-peer payments, limiting personal data exposure.<\/p>\n

This means that M-Pesa transaction notifications to merchants will no longer display the customer’s full phone number, showing only partial digits instead.<\/p>\n

According to Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, the feature will ensure that only two names of the sender are displayed and three middle figures of the mobile number on a transaction are masked.<\/p>\n

Customers wishing to know the details of the sender will have a 24-hour window period to request the information.<\/p>\n

“We have an obligation to ensure maximum digital security for our customers. This feature is a major step in the right direction towards fighting against fraud,” Ndegwa said.<\/p>\n

As digital payments continue to grow, Ndegwa said that concerns around privacy and responsible data usage become increasingly important.<\/p>\n

“Our customers want convenience, but they also need to feel that the information entrusted to us is handled with care, respect, and integrity.”<\/p>\n

He revealed that the firm’s data minimisation journey started with Pochi la Biashara in 2020 by reducing the customer information that merchants could view.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Safaricom internally cut back on the customer information that the front staff and support staff could access, strengthening internal privacy controls.<\/p>\n

The following year, the telco began masking phone numbers on M-Pesa statements, reducing exposure of personal details across customer touchpoints.<\/p>\n

“In 2024, we implemented API-level data minimisation, ensuring partners only receive the minimum data required to complete a service,” Safaricom\u2019s chief financial services officer said.<\/p>\n

She added that from March 24, recipients will only see two names and a masked number. “This journey reflects our ongoing commitment to embedding privacy-by-design across our financial ecosystem.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa\/HANDOUT Safaricom has introduced a data minimisation feature on its mobile money platform, M-Pesa, to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":833546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3159],"tags":[8580,23969,547,147844,239053,147847,6682,5517,5519,23967,23970,53,5520,23968,5518,16,15],"class_list":["post-833545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-customers","tag-kenya-news","tag-mobile","tag-mpesa","tag-ndegwa","tag-safaricom","tag-star","tag-star-news","tag-star-news-kenya","tag-star-newspaper","tag-star-newspaper-kenya","tag-technology","tag-the-star","tag-the-star-kenya","tag-the-star-newspaper","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116249143967337847","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=833545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/833545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=833545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=833545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=833545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}