Millions of Kenyans who rely on M-Pesa for everyday transactions are set to face a temporary disruption as Safaricom conducts a critical system upgrade. The maintenance is scheduled for Monday, September 22, 2025, from 12:30 am to 3:30 am, according to a public notice shared on Safaricom’s official X account on September 19.
The upgrade aims to enhance the security, stability, and speed of Kenya’s most widely used mobile money platform. Safaricom noted that the timing was strategically chosen to minimise inconvenience, falling during low-traffic hours when most users are asleep.
During the maintenance window, all M-Pesa services will be affected, including:
- Send and receive money: Peer-to-peer transfers will be unavailable, preventing users from sending or receiving funds.
- Cash withdrawals and deposits: M-Pesa agents will halt all deposit and withdrawal operations.
- Airtime and data purchases: Both self and third-party top-ups will be temporarily suspended.
- Lipa na M-Pesa (Pay with M-Pesa): Businesses and consumers will be unable to process payments via Till Numbers or Paybill.
- M-Pesa Bill Manager: Utility, school fees, and subscription payments will be offline.
- Loans and savings (M-Shwari, KCB M-Pesa, etc.): Borrowing, repayment, and savings deposits will be paused.
- Fuliza overdraft service: Transactions relying on automatic credit extension will fail.
- M-Pesa Global: International remittances and payments will also be affected.
Safaricom emphasised that M-Pesa has grown into a vital financial infrastructure serving over 30 million users in Kenya and the wider region. “For 18 years, M-PESA has transformed lives, connecting customers to opportunities every day,” the company said.
Users are advised to plan ahead, completing essential transactions before the system goes offline to avoid disruption to personal and business finances.
