Safaricom has launched its M-PESA Super App for and the M-PESA for Business App with an Offline Mode and Mini Apps features for customers. The Offline mode will enable customers to use the M-PESA Super App and complete transactions without data bundles or when totally offline. With the offline mode, customers can send and receive money and equally make payments without data bundles.
Commenting on the newly launched app, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said, “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.”
Mini-Apps will enable customers and businesses complete daily and occasional tasks within the M-PESA Super App and M-PESA for Business App. These tasks include deliveries, ticket booking, shopping, licence applications, insurance and much more from hundreds of businesses, government agencies, utilities and other firms.
Customers can access the Mini-Apps through the Discover option on the App while merchants on Lipa Na M-PESA can do so through the Hub option on the M-PESA for Business App.
The first services available as Mini-Apps include
- Madaraka SGR ticketing
- Long-distance bus booking with BusPass
- Event tickets on Mtickets
- Shopping gift vouchers on GiftPesa Vouchers
- Insurance services on eBima
- Gas delivery from Pro-Gas
In addition to the Mini-Apps and Offline Mode, the M-PESA Super App provides customers with a range of other convenient features. These include fingerprint and face unlock and transaction authentication, detailed usage statements, and an easy-to-use and fun design. Customers can therefore use fingerprint or face unlock to confirm a transaction in place of their M-PESA PINs.
More unique features available on the app include an M-PESA Send to Many option where customers can make multiple transactions to different recipients.
Customers using the app can equally Request Money from a sender who will only need to confirm the transaction by keying their PIN.
For the first time, M-PESA customers will have the option to personalize transactions by attaching a GIF when sending money or by adding descriptions to transaction details.
The M-PESA Super App has been designed to provide customers with a variety of convenient options when sending and receiving money. The Super App will also include the addition of Pochi La Biashara and M-PESA Global options. With M-PESA Global customers can send money to other mobile phone customers around East Africa, and to other countries directly into bank accounts, Western Union, or link and transact through PayPal.
So far, more than 1.3 million customers have downloaded the M-PESA Super App. An additional 100,000 businesses have downloaded the M-PESA for Business App since their launch in December and June 2020 respectively.
To mark the launch of the new features, Safaricom will award all customers who book SGR tickets on the Madaraka Express Mini-App with 10% of the value back into their M-PESA accounts.
As part of the promotion, customers who download the M-PESA Super App for the first time will get 500 MB of free Safaricom data. In addition, every 10th customer to download the app for the first time over the next three days will get Ksh. 500 into their M-PESA account.