Safaricom PLC on Friday, September 19, 2025, announced a three-hour M-Pesa blackout due to planned system maintenance.

Through a statement posted on X, the telecom giant told its customers that the disruption will last from 12:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Monday, September 22, 2025.

The telco said the system upgrade is meant to improve the quality, safety, and reliability of services Kenyans receive daily.

The company assured customers that the activity has been timed to cause the least possible disruption, as most people will be asleep during the scheduled hours.

What Safaricom Said

Safaricom explained that the upgrade is part of ongoing efforts to make its financial services more secure, faster, and easier to use.

“Dear Customer, For 18 years, M-PESA has continued to transform lives across Kenya, connecting you, our customers, to opportunities every day.

“To support this and meet our promise to offer always-on, safe, secure, and worry-free financial products and services, we will be conducting a scheduled system upgrade on Monday, 22nd September 2025, from 0:30 AM to 3:30 AM.

“During the maintenance, all M-PESA services, including airtime purchase, shall be temporarily unavailable.

“The timing of this maintenance activity has been planned to result in minimal inconvenience to our customers.

“We apologize for any inconvenience that may be caused and thank you for your continued support,” the Safaricom statement reads.

What It Means for Customers

This planned outage means that during the three-hour window, Kenyans will be unable to use M-Pesa for sending or receiving money, buying airtime, paying bills, withdrawing cash, or accessing M-Pesa-linked banking services.

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While many users may not feel the impact because of the late-night timing, the upgrade highlights M-Pesa’s central role in Kenya’s economy, with millions relying on the platform daily for personal and business transactions.

Industry watchers note that Safaricom has regularly conducted such maintenance in recent years as part of its expansion strategy, especially as competition for mobile money dominance continues to rise.

Safaricom urged Kenyans to plan their transactions ahead of time to avoid inconvenience during the blackout window.