NAIROBI, Kenya — Safaricom PLC has unveiled a new data minimisation feature on its mobile money platform, M-Pesa, aimed at strengthening user privacy by masking customer phone numbers during transactions.
The feature, which has received regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya, is set to roll out on March 24 and will apply across key transaction channels, including Till payments, PayBill services, and peer-to-peer transfers.
Under the update, transaction notifications sent to merchants will no longer display a customer’s full phone number. Instead, only partial digits will be visible, significantly limiting the exposure of personal data.
Additionally, only two names of the sender will be displayed, while three middle digits of the phone number will be masked.
Safaricom said the change is part of a broader effort to align with global data protection standards and reduce the risk of fraud linked to the misuse of customer information.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said the innovation reflects the company’s commitment to safeguarding user data in an increasingly digital economy.
“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.
The update also introduces a controlled disclosure mechanism, allowing merchants or recipients to request full sender details within a 24-hour window where necessary, balancing privacy with accountability in transactions.
The move comes amid growing scrutiny over data protection practices in Kenya, particularly following the enactment of the Data Protection Act, 2019, which mandates organisations to limit the collection and exposure of personal data to what is necessary for a specific purpose.
However, some stakeholders in the payments ecosystem, particularly small traders, may need to adjust operational practices that previously relied on full customer details for record-keeping and dispute resolution.
Safaricom maintains that the 24-hour disclosure window and existing transaction tracking tools will ensure that businesses can still verify payments without compromising customer privacy.
The rollout marks a significant shift in how personal data is handled in Kenya’s mobile money ecosystem, setting a precedent that could influence other financial service providers in the region.
