Safaricom Explain Why SHA Can Deduct Money From Kenyans’ M-Pesa Accounts Without Asking for PIN

Safaricom has explained why some M-Pesa customers may notice money leaving their accounts and going towards Social Health Authority (SHA) contributions without initiating individual transactions.

The explanation followed a complaint by a customer who questioned why money was being transferred from his M-Pesa account to SHA without what he described as his permission.

In a response posted on Facebook on Saturday, November 14, Safaricom linked the deductions to M-Pesa Ratiba, a service that allows customers to set up standing orders for recurring payments.

The telecommunications company explained that customers who activate the service can arrange automatic payments to SHA through the Lipa SHA Pole Pole option available on *254#.

“Hello Joel, thank you for reaching out. We’re really sorry to hear this, this happens if you activate Mpesa Ratiba which creates a standing order for Lipa SHA Pole pole on *254# under Lipa Pole Pole,” Safaricom stated.

The response came after a customer identified as Joel Malingi complained that money was being deducted from his M-Pesa account and deposited into SHA without his knowledge.

Malingi questioned why the transactions were going through without a notification asking him to enter his M-Pesa PIN.

He expressed concern about the security of customers’ money, arguing that deductions should not happen without their awareness.

However, Safaricom’s explanation did not establish whether Malingi had activated the standing order or how the specific transactions on his account had been authorised.

M-Pesa Ratiba allows customers to schedule recurring payments to individuals, PayBill numbers and Till numbers without having to initiate every transaction manually.

According to Safaricom’s terms and conditions, customers setting up standing orders through USSD must authenticate the arrangement using their M-Pesa PIN during activation.

Once the standing order is active, the agreed amount is automatically deducted on the scheduled date without requiring another PIN confirmation for every payment.

Customers using the M-Pesa App can choose between automatic payments and customer-initiated payments. Under the latter arrangement, they are required to enter their PIN whenever a payment falls due.

The service can also be used to settle regular expenses such as rent, school fees and utility bills.

For customers who do not wish to continue with automatic deductions, Safaricom has provided options for cancelling their standing orders.

Those using USSD can dial *334#, select option 9 for M-Pesa Ratiba, proceed to Manage Standing Order and choose Delete Standing Order.

Alternatively, customers using the M-Pesa App can navigate to Financial Services, select Mini App, open M-Pesa Ratiba, go to My Subscriptions and delete the relevant arrangement.

Safaricom’s terms further indicate that customers can view, edit or delete their subscriptions.

M-Pesa Ratiba attracts a KSh5 charge for every successful transaction, in addition to the applicable charges for sending money, PayBill or Buy Goods payments.

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