NAIROBI, Kenya – Safaricom has apologised to customers reporting unusual phone activity, including repeated account balance notifications, after a subscriber complained that his phone appeared to be borrowing airtime and purchasing minutes automatically.
Customer Simon Maina tagged the telecommunications company in a Facebook post, saying his phone had been receiving a stream of balance messages one after another.
Maina said the problem occurred on Saturday before recurring, prompting him to seek an explanation from the company.
“Hey Safaricom PLC, you keep sending me endless back-to-back messages about my account balance. Sometimes my phone automatically borrows airtime and buys minutes. What is wrong? My phone is currently receiving message notifications one after another as I speak, and this also happened last Saturday,” he wrote.
The complaint raised concerns about unexplained account activity and repeated notifications, although Safaricom did not immediately disclose what was causing the reported problem.
Safaricom Responds To Customer Complaint
In its response, Safaricom apologised for the inconvenience and said its technical team was aware of the issue and working to resolve it.
“Hello Simon. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Our team is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it. Thank you for your patience and understanding,” the company stated.
Safaricom did not specify whether the reported activity was linked to a technical fault, a service setting or another cause.
Customers experiencing unexpected airtime deductions or purchases should review their transaction records and contact Safaricom through its official customer care channels for assistance.
Missing M-PESA Messages? Safaricom Shares Possible Fix
Separately, Safaricom has advised customers who are not receiving M-PESA transaction messages and balance notifications to check whether their phones are filtering or blocking the messages.
The guidance followed a complaint raised on August 27 by a customer who said M-PESA messages and balance updates were no longer reaching her phone.
Safaricom advised affected users to check the screened or blocked messages section in their messaging settings.
“Confirm if you have blocked M-PESA messages. Go to Messages > Message settings > Screened/Blocked messages. Also, if using a third-party app like Truecaller, confirm in the app settings whether M-PESA messages are blocked,” the company advised.
The guidance suggests that some missing notifications may be linked to phone settings or third-party applications rather than a wider network problem.
Customers who continue experiencing difficulties can contact Safaricom for further troubleshooting.
M-PESA Auto Invest Feature: How Ziidi MMF Works
In a separate development, Safaricom’s M-PESA platform offers an Auto Invest feature that allows customers to automatically direct part of the money involved in qualifying transactions into the Ziidi Money Market Fund (MMF).
The feature enables users to set an investment rule based on a fixed amount or a percentage of eligible transactions, reducing the need to transfer money manually each time.
Ziidi MMF is an investment product accessible through M-PESA and regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). Safaricom launched the service in December 2024 ahead of its public launch in January 2025, with a minimum investment of Sh100.
The fund is managed by licensed fund managers, while Safaricom provides the technology through which customers access it.
The Auto Invest feature is separate from the unusual phone activity reported by Maina. There is no information in Safaricom’s response linking the repeated balance messages or alleged automatic airtime purchases to Ziidi MMF.
Customers using automated investment features should review their settings and transaction records to understand which transactions may trigger investments.
