• Safaricom’s M-PESA Fintech 2.0 upgrade lifts capacity to 6,000 transactions per second, scalable to 12,000, with AI fraud detection and cloud-native architecture.
• In FY2025, M-PESA processed 37.15 billion transactions worth KSh 38.29 trillion (≈USD 292.3 billion), generating KSh 161.1 billion (≈USD 1.23 billion) in revenue, up 15.1% year on year.
• Africa’s mobile money market hit USD 1.1 trillion in transactions in 2024 and is projected to grow fourfold by 2033, with rivals Wave, OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint expanding regionally.

Safaricom has launched what it calls the most significant overhaul of its M-PESA platform since 2015, introducing Fintech 2.0 to expand capacity, embed artificial intelligence, and strengthen resilience. The upgrade, announced on September 19, raises processing ability from 4,500 to 6,000 transactions per second, with scalability up to 12,000. It also incorporates an active-active architecture across multiple hosting sites to minimize service disruption.

The new M-PESA Core embeds AI capabilities designed to improve fraud detection, enable self-healing, and power real-time monitoring. Built on a cloud-native foundation, the platform allows instant scalability and faster rollout of new financial products. Safaricom describes the initiative as an investment in resilience and a step toward positioning M-PESA for future growth across Africa’s digital economy.

M-PESA, launched in 2007, has evolved from a money transfer service into a fintech ecosystem that includes payments, savings, credit, insurance, remittances, and e-commerce. In its 2025 annual report, Safaricom disclosed that M-PESA processed 37.15 billion transactions worth KSh 38.29 trillion (≈USD 292.3 billion), up from KSh 37.70 trillion (≈USD 287.8 billion) in 2024. Revenue climbed 15.1% year on year to KSh 161.1 billion (≈USD 1.23 billion), reinforcing M-PESA as the company’s largest growth driver.

The upgrade comes as Africa’s mobile money sector undergoes rapid expansion. GSMA reported that Sub-Saharan Africa processed USD 1.1 trillion in mobile money transactions in 2024, accounting for 68.75% of the global USD 1.6 trillion total. Market Data Forecast projects the African mobile money market to rise from USD 951 million in 2025 to USD 3.66 billion by 2033, at a compound annual growth rate of 18.3%.

Safaricom’s move also strengthens its position as key african player in the tech driven payment system. Wave has gained market share in Francophone West Africa, particularly Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. In Nigeria, OPay and PalmPay dominate, while Moniepoint is expanding in retail and merchant services. The upgrade enables M-PESA to process higher transaction volumes at a time when rival platforms are growing with target expansion on regional footprints.

The digital upgrade also expands Safaricom’s capacity to collect and process transaction metadata, including frequency, amounts, and consumer purchasing patterns across demographics. This data supports financial product development, credit scoring, and merchant services, providing visibility into payment flows in markets where banking penetration and individual financial information remain low. 

M-PESA’s regional operations now span Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, and Ghana through partnerships. With Fintech 2.0, the platform is configured to manage rising transaction values, scale to regional demand, and integrate AI-based monitoring at a time when mobile money is projected to quadruple in market size across Africa by 2033.

Hikmatu Bilali, Edited by Idriss Linge