Safaricom has secured regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to roll out a long-awaited data minimisation feature on M-Pesa that will mask customers’ phone numbers during transactions.
The approval was granted last month and clears the way for Safaricom to implement number masking for peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and eventually extend the same protection to merchant payments made via Till and PayBill numbers.
In a letter to Safaricom, the CBK confirmed it had reviewed the company’s application and supporting submissions before approving the implementation of data minimisation for P2P transactions.
“This is to inform you that the CBK has reviewed your application and submissions in support of the solution and approves your request to implement data minimalisation for peer-to-peer transactions,” the regulator stated.
Under the new feature, a sender’s mobile phone number will be partially masked when transferring funds directly from their M-Pesa wallet to another customer. The recipient will have the option to request access to the sender’s full number, subject to the sender’s consent.
Once extended to merchant payments, the solution will prevent businesses from automatically viewing a customer’s full mobile number when processing payments via Till or PayBill options. Currently, merchant transaction notifications display the payer’s phone number alongside the payment confirmation code and transaction amount.
The move aligns with the Data Protection Act, 2019, which requires organisations to collect and process only data that is necessary for service delivery.
The CBK has directed Safaricom to undertake extensive consumer awareness and customer education ahead of the rollout. The company is also required to monitor customer feedback, address complaints and submit monthly progress reports to the regulator.
“CBK further urges Safaricom PLC to ensure that the introduction of this service remains in compliance with the National Payment System Laws,” the regulator stated, adding that any future enhancements must strictly adhere to applicable legal and regulatory frameworks.
The rollout timeline for the feature has not yet been publicly disclosed.
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