Safaricom’s M-PESA to introduce standing orders; a first in the mobile money industry.

Safaricom’s M-PESA is set to introduce standing orders, a groundbreaking move in the mobile money industry. George Njuguna, the telco’s Chief Information Officer, made this announcement, highlighting that M-PESA will be the world’s first mobile money platform to offer this feature, despite standing orders being relatively common in traditional and neo-banking products. Njuguna explained, “This is the first initiative, where you will have standing orders on a mobile platform – the first in the world, and not just the first in Africa. We will use it in other areas such as health because we understand this economy to increase accessibility and affordability.”

The introduction of standing orders to M-PESA will revolutionize the way users manage recurring payments and transfers. This feature will enable users to set up automated, regular payments from their mobile money accounts to individuals, businesses, or services. It’s a convenient way to ensure that bills, rent, and other recurring expenses are paid punctually and effortlessly.

M-PESA has evolved to encompass a wide range of products and services, spanning payments, savings, and credit access. Among its offerings, M-PESA provides bill payment services like Lipa na M-PESA and Buy Goods. These platforms are likely candidates for users to establish standing orders, streamlining the process of automatically paying utility bills, rent, and other expenses on specified dates.

M-PESA also offers various credit facilities, including M-Shwari, KCB M-PESA, and Fuliza (an overdraft facility). Standing orders will play a pivotal role in ensuring that loan repayments are made promptly.

Traditionally, standing orders have been crucial for savings and investments. Safaricom offers similar products such as KCB M-PESA and M-Shwari for savings, as well as Mali, its investment product. Integrating standing orders with these services could facilitate regular transfers of a portion of a customer’s balance into investments or savings.

Last year, Safaricom launched a virtual card in partnership with VISA, exclusively for online payments. Kenyan customers can use this card, for instance, to pay for Netflix through M-PESA. Here, standing orders can simplify payment settlements, eliminating the need for manual intervention with every transaction.

While Safaricom has not disclosed when standing orders will be available to users or provided implementation details, this innovative addition is set to further enhance the M-PESA experience. In the fiscal year ending in March 2023, M-PESA generated impressive revenue growth of 8.8%, reaching KES 117.19 billion ($816 million). Although this fell short of the previous fiscal year’s results, Safaricom attributed the decline to macroeconomic factors.