Safaricom issues update on M-PESA services resumption
By Cynthia Lodite, September 22, 2025Safaricom has issued an update on the successful resumption of M-PESA after a recent scheduled M-PESA system upgrade, confirming that all services are now fully restored.
In an official statement released on its Official X account on Monday, 22 September 2025, the company announced that customers can now use the service while affirming better service.
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“Dear Customers, The scheduled M-PESA upgrade was successfully completed and all services fully restored. ALL M-PESA services are now available. We look forward to serving you better and providing you with seamless experiences. Safaricom PLC,” Safaricom said.
Notably, this marks the end of a brief service suspension that began earlier in the day.
The downtime formed part of a planned system upgrade, as outlined in a notice released on Friday, September 19, 2025. The suspension affected all platform services, including sending and receiving money, withdrawals, airtime purchases, and other financial products.
Likewise, Safaricom stated that the upgrade was necessary to maintain its promise of providing safe, secure, and always-on financial services.
Among the affected services were deposits and withdrawals, money transfers, airtime and data purchases, transaction reversals, loans and savings, wealth management, insurance, bank transfers, Lipa na M-PESA, recurring payments, global pay, e-commerce, business till payments, bulk payments, business apps, and mini-apps hosted on the M-PESA Super App.
Fintech 2.0 and enhanced capacity
According to the company, this upgrade—the largest since 2015—introduces Fintech 2.0, a next-generation core platform designed to boost transaction capacity and reliability. Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said the new system increases transaction processing from 4,500 per second to 6,000, with scalability up to 12,000 as demand grows. The platform now runs on an “active-active” setup across multiple hosting sites, reducing interruptions and improving outage protection.
“This upgrade is a bold investment in the future of M-PESA and reaffirmation of our commitment to innovation, resilience and customer trust. By moving to Fintech 2.0, we are unlocking a platform that not only scales to meet today’s demands but also anticipates tomorrow’s opportunities,” Ndegwa stated.
Safaricom scheduled the maintenance during early morning hours to minimise disruption, apologising for the inconvenience and assuring customers of a swift return to normal operations.