The new M-PESA app has gone official.
The app’s development was started many months ago, and tests were launched in 2020.
So far, the app has proved to be one of the carrier’s success stories because it has been downloaded more than 1.3 million times, effectively making it one of the most popular Kenya-made apps.
Read More: Seven Cool Things To Do With The New M-PESA App
The app just got unveiled this morning by Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, and Acting Chief Financial Services Officer Sitoyo Lopokoiyit.
The presentation highlighted the any features that we have since talked about over the months in 2020.
For instance, Sitoyo lauded the M-PESA app’s biometrics, which secures the app using a fingerprint or face for those who do not want to type their PIN code. The biometrics are needed when you open the app, and when completing a transaction.
You can also generate statements from the app, but unlike M-Ledger that was discontinued a long time ago, you can only generate statement from 2021, and not earlier. The statements are the downloaded immediately.
Read More: Why Safaricom Customers Want M-Ledger Back
Sitoyo says the company is working on more a more customized statement such that users can zero down on, say, how much money they have sent to a certain person. The development will effectively see some of the M-Ledger’s features trickle back to the M-PESA app.
Safaricom is also working with the fintech community to add more mini apps on the M-PESA app. Mini-apps are found on the Discover section of the app, and so far, 7 of them have been published: Pro Gas, MTICKETS, Minet, Madaraka Express, E-BIMA, CPF, GiftPesa and BuuPass.
Purchasing a Madaraka train ticket via the app will get you 10 percent cash back.
The lifestyle section will also be supplemented by additional 40 apps that are still under review. Besides, the section is, according to Safaricom, an ‘app store’ within an app.
Also, the mini apps are available on the M-PESA business app. The business app has been downloaded more than 100K times.
Read More: M-PESA Business App Visualizes Trends and Manages Merchant Accounts on a Tap
The app is also zero-rated, which means it does not use your bundles.
In case you do not have a data connection, the app still works in offline mode, eliminating the need to use the STK menu that is always cumbersome.
Smartphones have increasingly become popular as they connect customers to more opportunities empowering them to achieve more at work, in their business, when learning, and even for entertainment. In response, we have designed the M-PESA Super App to enhance our customers’ experience every time they use the service, providing them with a simple, fun, secure, and convenient digital solution – CEO Peter Ndegwa
Lastly, first-time users will get 500 MBs of free data, and every 10th customer new M-PESA app customer will receive KES 500 on their M-PESA wallet over the next three days.
