Safaricom Bets Big on M-PESA 2.0 with Sh 40 Billion Upgrade

Read Time:2 Minute, 31 Second

Safaricom has announced a major upgrade to its mobile money service, M-PESA, with a Sh 40 billion investment aimed at boosting performance, reliability, and security.

The project, dubbed M-PESA 2.0, was revealed during the platform’s 18th anniversary and is set to shape the future of mobile finance across the continent.

A Look at M-PESA’s Evolution

Launched in 2007 as a simple money transfer tool, M-PESA has grown into one of Africa’s largest financial platforms, now serving over 70 million users across eight countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and more recently Ethiopia.

Its daily transaction volume sits at around 100 million, with the system able to handle 4,000 transactions per second.

Read: Why Safaricom Tops as the Most Inclusive Brand in Kenya

Beyond person-to-person transfers, M-PESA has evolved into a full financial ecosystem, enabling business payments, loans, savings, and more.

It supports over 55,000 business integrations via the Daraja API, which is used by more than 100,000 developers to create payment solutions and other services.

What the MPESA Upgrade Entails

The Sh 40 billion investment is focused on three main areas: improving uptime, tightening security, and enhancing the customer experience.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said the goal is to completely eliminate downtime, so customers won’t experience service interruptions.

“By the time it’s fully rolled out, there will be zero downtime for customers. Safety and security are always our top priority,” he said.

“To maintain customer trust, we stay ahead of fraudsters and cyber threats, with strong guardrails in place and ethical hackers testing our systems. We’re constantly building resilience so customers can rely on our services with confidence.” Ndegwa added.

The upgrade is expected to wrap up in 2025, and will support additional services like cross-border money transfers and virtual cards, including recent partnerships like M-PESA GlobalPay with Visa.

Growth Beyond Kenya

M-PESA’s expansion into Ethiopia last year has already shown strong results, with the platform signing up more than 4.5 million users in the country, and 31.5 million transactions worth Sh 24.5 billion processed.

Read: Safaricom Ziidi MMF Launches: Here’s How to Invest

The new infrastructure will strengthen regional money transfers, including those between Kenya and Ethiopia, and improve scalability as the user base continues to grow.

Expanding Financial Services

Safaricom has also been branching into digital investment services. In late 2024, it launched the Ziidi Money Market Fund, allowing users to invest with as little as Sh 100.

By April 2025, over one million people had already opted in. These kinds of offerings are expected to be more deeply integrated into M-PESA 2.0.

Building for the Future

The investment will also enhance support for merchants and agents, especially in markets like Ethiopia, where M-PESA has onboarded over 62,000 active merchants and 25,000 agents.

Jefferson Wachira is a writer at Africa Digest News, specializing in banking and finance trends, and their impact on African economies.