Femme StaffM-PESA users who do not have smartphones and those who do not have the Safaricom App have a reason to smile as Safaricom rolls out its new service *334#. This is right along Safaricom’s promise to continue making changes to enable users have better user experiences as they use the telco’s services.
The service which is immediately available to subscribers consolidates all M-PESA services in a single, easy to use menu with more flexibility than is possible on the current SIM toolkit menu. M-PESA on *334# brings together all services that have previously being offered through different USSDs saving customers from having to remember the different numbers. The new menu makes it easier to send money to the correct recipient by displaying the receiver’s name and only advancing once the customer confirms the transaction.
To use the service, customers will dial *334# upon which they will be presented with a choice of the different M-PESA services including “Send Money”, “Loans and Savings” or “Lipa Na M-PESA”. As with other USSD menus, customers will key in the number selecting the service such as “5” for Lipa Na M-PESA.
Within the Lipa Na M-PESA menu, customers can directly select PayBill and Till Numbers for Banks, Government and County Government Services, and Transport services including the SGR and long-distance buses. Once a customer selects any of the options, they will be presented with a list of services they can then pay through Lipa Na M-PESA.
Customers can also use the Lipa Na M-PESA option to pay to personal numbers for select businesses. Other options now available on M-PESA on *334# include M-PESA Global which empowers customers to send and receive money across the world.
In addition to making M-PESA more convenient to use, the service also makes it easier for Safaricom to deploy additional M-PESA features free of the restrictions imposed by the old SIM Card Menu. As a result, customers can enjoy smoother functionality such as with Hakikisha on this new menu.
