Safaricom has confirmed a nationwide disruption of its M-Shwari service, leaving thousands of customers unable to access savings or complete transactions. The outage, which began on Wednesday evening, triggered panic among users who feared losing money stored in the mobile banking platform.
In a statement, Safaricom acknowledged the technical breakdown and urged customers to avoid depositing funds into M-Shwari until services are fully restored. The company assured users that its engineers were working round the clock to fix the problem and guaranteed that all customer funds remain safe despite the hitch.
The blackout sparked an avalanche of complaints on social media, with users reporting failed withdrawals, frozen balances, and delayed transactions. Some expressed frustration over being unable to settle urgent bills, while others accused the telco of poor communication and negligence. Screenshots of customer grievances quickly went viral, amplifying fears about the security of digital savings.
Despite the public anxiety, Safaricom insisted that no transactions or deposits would be lost once the system is back online. However, the company advised customers to hold off on making new deposits until it announces the full restoration of services.
Financial analysts have warned that the incident highlights the dangers of relying solely on mobile banking platforms. They are urging Kenyans to diversify their savings and maintain alternative access to their money to avoid being stranded during future outages.
This is not the first time M-Shwari has faced downtime, but the scale of the current breakdown has renewed calls for stronger safeguards in Kenya’s fast-growing mobile money sector. Safaricom promised to issue regular updates as technical teams work to restore normal operations.
By Nairobi