Safaricom Advances M-PESA’s Role in Kenya’s Digital Payment Ecosystem

As Kenya’s digital economy evolves, Safaricom is intensifying efforts to maintain M-PESA as the backbone of mobile financial transactions, even as an increasing volume of payments transitions from consumer-facing apps to business-driven backend systems.

API Transactions Now Constitute a Quarter of M-PESA Activity

Recent data presented by Esther Waititu, Safaricom’s Chief Financial Services Officer, at a Nairobi event reveals that approximately 25% of M-PESA transactions are now conducted via application programming interfaces (APIs). This shift underscores how deeply embedded M-PESA has become within various sectors, including payments, credit services, supply chain logistics, and government platforms.

Daraja 3.0: A Major Upgrade to Support API-Driven Growth

In response to the growing reliance on API-based transactions, Safaricom has fully launched Daraja 3.0, the latest iteration of its payment gateway for developers integrating M-PESA into their applications. Announced initially in March, this upgrade aims to streamline onboarding processes and accelerate deployment times, addressing previous challenges related to setup delays and operational friction.

“Daraja 3.0 represents a gateway to the future of fintech innovation,” Waititu emphasized, highlighting the upgrade as a critical step in modernizing M-PESA’s technological infrastructure.

Scaling to Meet Massive Transaction Volumes

M-PESA handles an extraordinary volume of transactions, exceeding 100 million daily, with peak throughput reaching 6,000 transactions per second (TPS). The enhanced Daraja platform is engineered to support up to 12,000 TPS, with an interim target of 10,000 TPS expected by January 2026. The ecosystem currently boasts over 66,000 active integrations and a developer community surpassing 105,000 individuals.

Global and Regional Fintech Trends Fueling API Adoption

Worldwide, payment APIs are expanding at an annual rate of 17.5%, while Africa’s fintech sector is forecasted to grow fivefold by 2028. Messaging APIs alone contribute 36% of revenue in global digital marketplaces, according to Safaricom’s insights, reflecting the increasing importance of API-driven services in financial technology.

Enhancing Developer Relations and Governance

After years of developer grievances concerning slow support, incomplete documentation, and inconsistent communication, Safaricom is committing to improved transparency and more robust support mechanisms for integrators. This shift acknowledges the critical role developers now play in sustaining and expanding M-PESA’s platform.

Waititu recognized the existing challenges and outlined plans for stronger governance frameworks and clearer escalation procedures. The goal is for Daraja 3.0 to reduce operational bottlenecks and foster a more collaborative relationship with the developer community, which has become indispensable to M-PESA’s ongoing success.

“We invite developers to collaborate with us, challenge our processes, and drive innovation forward,” Waititu concluded, signaling a new era of partnership and growth.