×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Informed Minds Prefer The Standard
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download Now

The outrage of shopping with nothing but your phone, on a day of M-Pesa outage

Vocalize Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Vocalize

Widespread service outage disrupted M-pesa-related transactions on January 9, 2023. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

I was out and about early in the week, like most Kenyans, doing some shopping while armed with nothing but my phone.

Fortunately for me, I was in a locality where I know most traders by name, so they trusted that I'd pay for the goods offered when the Safaricom system was restored.

Premium Article

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Fact-first reporting that puts you at the heart of the newsroom. Subscribe for full access.
Continue Reading  →
What you get
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimised reading
  • Weekly newsletters & digests
Pay via
M - PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure Payments Kenya's most trusted newsroom since 1902
Sports
Gor Mahia edge AFC Leopards to win 99th Mashemeji Derby
By AFP 8 hrs ago
Sports
Sawe breaks two-hour mark for first time in marathon history
Sports
Koech, Uganda's Chesang crowned Eldoret City Marathon champions
Sports
FIFA, CAF demand answers from FKF over suspension of top officials