{"id":1403,"date":"2026-03-13T05:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T05:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/?p=1403"},"modified":"2026-03-13T05:30:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T05:30:37","slug":"safaricom-to-mask-m-pesa-sender-numbers-in-major-privacy-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/2026\/03\/13\/safaricom-to-mask-m-pesa-sender-numbers-in-major-privacy-overhaul\/","title":{"rendered":"Safaricom to Mask M-Pesa Sender Numbers in Major Privacy Overhaul"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NAIROBI, Kenya<\/strong> \u2014 In a move to bolster user security and align with tightening data privacy regulations, Safaricom has announced it will stop displaying full phone numbers of senders during M-Pesa transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The update, set to roll out by the end of March 2026<\/strong>, marks a fundamental shift in how the mobile money giant handles subscriber data. Under the new protocol, recipients of “Send Money” transactions will only see a redacted version of the sender’s mobile number, effectively shielding the sender’s identity from potential “data harvesting” or unsolicited contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Birthday Milestone Focused on Trust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The announcement coincides with M-Pesa\u2019s 19th anniversary<\/strong>. Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa emphasized that as the platform surpasses 40 million monthly active users<\/strong>, maintaining digital trust has become as critical as the service’s reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“That trust is built not only on the reliability of M-PESA, but also on how well we protect the personal information of those who use it,” Ndegwa stated on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The move follows increasing pressure from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)<\/strong> and the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC)<\/strong> to minimize the exposure of personal identifiable information (PII). It also mirrors recent changes where Safaricom began redacting phone numbers in M-Pesa statements to comply with the Data Protection Act<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How the New Feature Works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the sender’s name will remain visible to ensure the recipient knows who sent the funds, the mobile number will be partially hidden (e.g., 0702<\/strong>507<\/em>*). Safaricom has introduced a two-step consent process for those who need more information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • The 24-Hour Window:<\/strong> A recipient can request the sender’s full details within 24 hours of a transaction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The Consent Prompt:<\/strong> The sender will receive a pop-up on their phone asking for permission to share their details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The 2-Hour Limit:<\/strong> If the sender does not approve the request within two hours, or explicitly declines it, the information remains hidden.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Addressing Privacy Gaps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    For years, M-Pesa users have expressed concerns over how easily strangers\u2014such as delivery riders or casual acquaintances\u2014can obtain their full mobile numbers through a simple transaction. This update aims to close that gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, the transition hasn’t been without debate. Some users recently criticized Safaricom for “over-redacting” data, especially after the telco required a Police Abstract<\/strong> for customers to access unmasked versions of their own transaction statements. This new P2P masking feature appears to be a middle-ground solution, giving users more control over their own data in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Phased Rollout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The “Number Masking” feature will be launched in phases, starting with standard person-to-person (P2P) transfers before expanding across the entire M-Pesa ecosystem, including merchant payments and agent transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Safaricom updates M-Pesa to hide sender phone numbers starting March 2026. Learn how the new 24-hour request process works and what it means for your privacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[328,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Safaricom-CEO.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1403"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1406,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1403\/revisions\/1406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keyame.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}