Kenya's leading telecommunications provider, Safaricom, has announced a planned disruption of its popular mobile money platform, M-Pesa, on Tuesday.

The outage is scheduled to last for over four hours, from 11:00 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The company stated that the temporary suspension of M-Pesa services is necessary to facilitate crucial system maintenance.

“To enable us to continue to give you the best M-PESA experience we have scheduled a system maintenance on Tuesday 10th September 2024 from 11:00 PM to Wednesday 11th September 3:30 AM,” Safaricom said.

During the outage, customers will be unable to access services such as bill payments, money transfers, cash withdrawals, and airtime purchases.

The telecommunications giant clarified that “All other services including calls, data and SMS will remain available as usual,” ensuring that standard communication channels will remain unaffected by the maintenance.

This is the second time in recent months that Safaricom has announced a scheduled M-Pesa outage.

In August, the company conducted a similar maintenance that affected several M-Pesa services, including Lipa na M-PESA, international money transfers, and the M-PESA and mySafaricom Apps.

Safaricom's M-Pesa platform has become an integral part of the Kenyan economy, with over 30 million active users in the country alone.

The company's commitment to regular maintenance is aimed at ensuring the platform's continued reliability and performance.

While the outage may cause temporary inconvenience to customers, Safaricom emphasized that maintenance is essential for the long-term growth and sustainability of its M-Pesa services.

The company has urged customers to plan accordingly and make necessary arrangements to minimize disruptions during the outage period.

In addition to the scheduled maintenance, Safaricom has also been working on various enhancements to improve the overall M-Pesa experience.

These initiatives include faster transaction times, improved security measures, and expanded service offerings.

The company's focus on innovation and customer satisfaction has contributed to its position as a leading mobile money provider in Kenya and across Africa.