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Safaricom stops M-Pesa transfers to unregistered mobile money users 

Safaricom stops M-Pesa transfers to unregistered mobile money users 
Safaricom's headquarters in Westlands, Nairobi. (Photo: Courtesy)

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Kenyans had been advised to ensure they register their SIM cards or risk having them deactivated.

Safaricom PLC has halted the transfer of money to unregistered mobile money users starting next week on Monday.

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In a notice on Saturday, Safaricom announced the changes without giving any reasons for the stoppage.

"Effective February 5, 2024, you will no longer be able to send money from M-Pesa to unregistered mobile money customers," read the notice.

However, they noted that registered users will be able to send and receive money across different mobile money providers such as Airtel and T-Kash.

"We encourage customers who are not registered for mobile money services to register by visiting a Safaricom Shop or M-Pesa Agent with their Identity Document," read the notice.

In 2022, The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) directed mobile carriers to make additional efforts to achieve 100 per cent SIM registration compliance.

Kenyans had been advised to ensure they register their SIM cards or risk having them deactivated.

The Authority noted that the guidelines were a move to reduce incidences of digital fraud and cybercrime that were prevalent in the local telecommunications sector.

By registering the SIM cards, Subscriber information was also being updated in the databases.

According to the Authority, most unregistered cards had been found to be with the old folks who had bought their mobile phones before 2015 when there was an ineffective law.

Other SIM cards were also being sold by unlicensed operators and agents which led to an increase in criminal activities.

The 2015 CA's Registration of SIM Card Regulations prohibits SIM card hawking.

For those contravening the law, the suspects risk a six-month jail term, a Sh300,000 fine, or both.

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