M-Pesa users will escape the pain of making cash withdrawals from incorrect agent shops after Safaricom introduced an additional verification step of inputting a ‘store number’ right after keying in the ‘agent number’.
The additional feature aims at fixing the rampant problem of customers entering the wrong agent number, which results in funds withdrawal being reflected in a different outlet thus risking a loss of cash.
In the new process, the unique agent and the store numbers will have to match for a withdrawal transaction to go through, meaning there is no room for error.
Previously, customers had to contact the telco and initiate the reversal process of funds withdrawn erroneously from the wrong stores, which was time-consuming and not ideal in times of emergencies.
In October 2015, Safaricom introduced a service dubbed Hakikisha that gives M-Pesa users a 15-second window to confirm the name of the intended withdrawal agent through a pop-up on their mobile phones.
Through this service, subscribers can cancel transactions within the period at no cost. It also allows customers sending money directly to other users to confirm the names of their intended recipients before the transaction is finalised.
M-Pesa has in recent years been the giant telco’s leading cash cow following its steady growth against voice and text messaging revenues.
In the half year ended September 2022, Safaricom booked Sh39.8 billion from the voice service while revenue from M-Pesa hit Sh56.8 billion, which translated to 41.2 percent of the Sh138.1 billion total mobile service revenue.
The service employs thousands of agents and is used by a large number of merchants to process payments, making it a key player in the national payments system.
“There are over 160,000 agents countrywide ready to serve you wherever you are with many more added daily. Our agents are always ready to make your Safaricom experience satisfying,” Safaricom says on its website.
Last October, Ethiopian authorities okayed Safaricom’s introduction of M-Pesa in the market of more than 110 million people.
The entry into the new market marked the onset of a financial revolution in a country whose banking sector has no way of transferring funds across banks.
Safaricom is mulling splitting the mobile money service from its telco business in a reorganisation that will see the two run as separate subsidiaries of the same firm.
Safaricom chief executive Peter Ndegwa has affirmed that even though the board is yet to approve the transaction separating the two businesses, it has given support to the management to pursue the process.
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