Nairobi, Kenya – Monday, September 22, 2025: Safaricom has completed the largest upgrade of its M-Pesa platform since 2015, raising its processing power from 4,500 to 6,000 transactions per second. The new system can scale up to 12,000 transactions per second to meet future demand.

The upgrade, branded Fintech 2.0, introduces a cloud-native core system that allows faster deployment of products, stronger fraud detection, and higher system resilience through multiple hosting sites. According to Safaricom, this positions M-Pesa to handle the rapid growth of digital finance in Africa.

One of the most notable features of the new platform is the integration of artificial intelligence. The system uses AI for real-time monitoring and self-healing, reducing the risk of outages and fraud attempts. This improvement comes at a time when financial cybercrime is on the rise globally, making fraud prevention a top priority for mobile money providers.

Launched in 2007, M-Pesa has grown beyond money transfers into a full digital financial ecosystem. Today, it supports payments, loans, savings, insurance, and international remittances. The service has become a cornerstone of financial inclusion in Kenya and across Africa, with millions relying on it daily for transactions.

Safaricom says this upgrade will not only strengthen reliability for local users but also support expansion into regional markets, where demand for mobile-based financial services continues to grow.

For more on Kenya’s fintech evolution, see how Equity Bank is investing in digital banking and how Airtel Money is scaling its services. Globally, mobile money growth is tracked by organizations like the GSMA, while World Bank reports highlight how fintech drives economic inclusion.

In Kenya, mobile finance remains one of the fastest-growing sectors. Read more about it on sauce.co.ke.