It’s impossible to talk about the Kenyan economy today without acknowledging the massive shift in our financial DNA. If M-PESA was already a household name before 2020, the COVID-19 crisis turned it into a literal lifeline. We moved away from physical cash because we had to, but we stayed digital because it worked. Today, mobile money isn’t just a convenience, it’s the heartbeat of our society.
Building on that momentum, Safaricom’s latest feature, Shiriki Pay, is finally solving one of our oldest headaches: the let me send your the till/PayBill number you pay problem.
For years, the routine was the same. If a family member or employee needed to buy something, you’d Send Money. You paid a transfer fee, lost visibility of the cash the moment it hit their phone, and just hoped it went toward the intended Paybill or Buy Goods till.
Shiriki Pay flips the script. Instead of sending funds, you are granting spending permission. You remain the owner of the funds, but you authorize someone else, a Safaricom customer, to spend directly from your balance within the guardrails you define.
In a post-pandemic world where we do almost everything on our phones, Shiriki Pay introduces a level of control we’ve never had before:
- You set the boundaries. Whether it’s a daily cap of Ksh. 500 or a monthly budget of Ksh. 10,000, the system ensures not a cent more is spent.
- To keep things secure, the authorized user cannot withdraw the money at an agent or send it to a third party. The funds can only be used for Lipa na M-PESA (Buy Goods and Paybill) or Pochi la Biashara.
- You get a notification the second a transaction happens. You have full visibility and the power to revoke access instantly if things look off.
- Because there is no initial Send Money transaction between you and the user, you skip that first layer of fees. You only pay the standard Lipa na M-PESA charges at the point of purchase.
Shiriki Pay isn’t just a technical update; it’s a tool for the way Kenyans actually live:
- For Parents: You can provide your children with a lunch and fare budget. You know the money is going to the canteen or the petrol station, not being converted into airtime or any other unnecessary thing.
- For Small Businesses: Empower your staff to handle utility bills, restock office supplies, or pay for fuel without needing to be physically present or handing out lump sums of cash.
- For Households: Manage the “shopping budget” by giving your house manager a limit. It removes the friction of daily transfers and keeps the accounting automated.