Safaricom cut fraud by 82 percent, but missed its 90 percent goal

Safaricom cut fraud incidents by 82 percent in its 2026 financial year and recovered 46 percent of reported fraud losses. It had aimed for a 90 percent cut. The numbers come from the company's 2026 Sustainable Business Report, which states the gap openly.

What Safaricom built

The company finished a major upgrade of the M-PESA platform called Fintech 2.0. The report says it raised capacity from 4,500 to 6,000 transactions per second. It also adds AI tools that watch payments as they happen and flag patterns that match known fraud.

• A Cyber Defence Centre that monitors threats around the clock
• More than 70 AI and machine learning models in production
• New security tools for developers who build on M-PESA
• Independent certification for security and privacy systems

Hiding your details

For merchant payments, 94 percent of customer names and phone numbers are now masked. Work continues toward full coverage. A scammer who cannot see your full name and number has less to quote back to you while posing as someone you trust.

Where the risk remains

The report says social engineering was the leading threat to customers. That means tricking a person rather than breaking a system. It says in person tricks were the biggest contributor. It also warns that criminals use AI to make phishing and deepfakes more convincing.

Outside data shows the pressure. Interpol says SIM swap fraud in Kenya rose 327 percent in 2025. More than 123,000 fraudulent SIMs were involved, and about KSh491.6 million was drained from mobile wallets.

What to do

• Do not act on urgency from an online ad or an unfamiliar caller.
• Reject offers of free money, a doubled Fuliza limit or fixed returns.
• Use only the MySafaricom app, the M-PESA app, safaricom.co.ke or customer care.
• Forward suspicious texts to 333, which is free.

Safaricom says it contacts customers only from 0722 000 000 and does not ask for personal information. Fuliza limits come from automated scoring, and no website or person can raise them for a fee. Customers can refresh a limit once every 30 days through *334#.