In case you are wondering what happens to a deceased person’s MPESA balance, we came upon the procedure to claim the same. Safaricom requires that the next of kin visit any of their retail centers and provide certain documents for inspection and approval before any funds can be released.
Upon receiving notification of the death of a subscriber the M-PESA account will be frozen to prevent further dealings on the account.
These procedure is;
1. ID of the person claiming the funds
This is the national ID of the person claiming the deceased funds.
2. Death Certificate
This is a government document that proves that the person is deceased.
3. Statutory Declaration (Affidavit)
A document witnessed by an advocate commissioner for oaths stating certain facts including the claimant’s relation to the deceased.
4. Grant of Letters of Administration (interstate)
This is a legal document obtained from any probate & administration court. The same is issued after the court is satisfied that a person has the capacity to act as a legal representative to the estate of a deceased person who did not leave a will appointing a personal representative.
5. Grant of Probate
This is a legal document issued by the court to an executor of the estate of a deceased person who left a will providing for what should happen to his estate and further appointing a personal representative (executor). The appointed person will go to court with the will and supporting documents and obtains a Grant of Probate.
6. Confirmation of Grant of Probate or Confirmation of Grant of Letters of Administration
This is a document issued by a court naming the beneficiaries and documenting their entitlement to portions of the estate of the deceased.
7. Letter from the Provincial administration
This is a letter from the chief, DC or PC confirming certain details about the deceased person and his beneficiaries. The confirmation will include the full names of the deceased, the area where the deceased was from and all the persons who are beneficiaries of the estate of the deceased.
8. Fill a next of kin form
Once all the requisite documents have been provided, funds will be transferred into the beneficiaries entitled to the M-PESA account balances once all documents are found to be in order.
The beneficiary must also provide a registered M-PESA account to receive the funds as Safaricom does not pay out money in any other form. You can download the MPESA next of kin claim form here.
To make it easy for your family to claim money in your M-Pesa, you can also register your next of kin on your line as follows;
1. Dial *234
2. key in option 2
3. Key in option 6
4. Enter your Bonga PIN
5. Enter your next of kin details
Other details
Please note that if you don’t claim your next of kin M-Pesa money in time, the money will be transferred to the Unclaimed Benefits Authority. All is not lost though and you can claim the money from them