×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Home To Bold Columnists
★★★★ - 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.

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.
Fact‑first reporting that puts you at the heart of the newsroom. Subscribe for full access.
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Uninterrupted ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimized reading experience
  • Weekly Newsletters
  • MPesa, Airtel Money and Cards accepted
Already a subscriber? Log in
Football
Record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia go nine points
Athletics
Kenya finally removed from WADA watchlist
By Ben Ahenda 22 mins ago
Boxing
Nairobi on verge of lifting National Intermediate Championships title
Unique Sports
All set for Kisumu County special needs primary school games