MPESA is one of the most used mobile money services across Kenya and Africa as a whole. The service has over 25 million customers in Kenya who rely on it day to day purchases and payments. The latest development from Safaricom indicates that customers can now access MPESA services through a USSD code menu.
MPESA services will now be accessed by dialling *334# on your phone. This is in addition to the already existing methods of accessing MPESA menu, which is through the toolkit and the mySafaricom app. During the release of its financial results, Safaricom quoted Kenya’s smartphone penetration to be at 40%. This means that a majority of users of its services such as calls, SMS and, M-Pesa, are non-smartphone users.
The Safaricom CEO, Peter Ndegwa, says that they have embarked on a strategy to simplify the telco’s range of products and services for customers. This is to provide them with an even better experience. M-PESA on *334# is the first solution as part of this ongoing strategy and it refines how customers interact with the service.
When you dial *334#, you will be presented with a list of MPESA services that you can use. This includes Send Money; Withdraw Cash; Buy Airtime; Loans and Services; Financial Services; Lipa na MPESA; My Account; and Mfuko wa Biashara.
The new USSD code makes it easy for Safaricom users with feature phones to use it without using the toolkit. It also makes it easier for Safaricom users with iPhones to access MPESA services without digging into settings to find the SIM toolkit.
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