Safaricom OneApp onboarding gap

Safaricom’s new My OneApp left some M-PESA users abroad unable to get back in after rollout, because first login required a Safaricom SIM and mobile data. (safaricom.co.ke) (techcabal.com) (thekenyatimes.com) Safaricom published My OneApp frequently asked questions on April 9, 2026, saying the product merges the M-PESA app and the mySafaricom app into one platform. TechCabal reported the company plans to decommission both older apps six months after launch. (safaricom.co.ke) (techcabal.com) Users said the new sign-in flow blocked access unless Safaricom mobile data was active, the correct SIM was selected, and virtual private networks were turned off. Safaricom told affected customers abroad to insert the Safaricom SIM as the primary line, activate roaming, and use mobile data instead of Wi‑Fi for the first login. (techcabal.com) (thekenyatimes.com) Safaricom said the physical SIM or embedded SIM had to be present on the device for what it called enhanced security and fraud mitigation. That design works differently for people in Kenya than for customers abroad who keep Kenyan numbers active while relying on roaming, Wi‑Fi, or a second local SIM. (thekenyatimes.com) (techcabal.com) The gap landed in a product Safaricom has positioned as central to its financial push. TechCabal reported My OneApp is part of Safaricom’s “FinTech 2.0” strategy, with cloud-native infrastructure rated at 6,000 transactions per second and more than 80 third-party services inside the app. (techcabal.com) Safaricom’s own M-PESA pages market cross-border use heavily. The company says M-PESA Global lets registered customers send and receive money globally, including transfers to millions of bank accounts and more than 500,000 Western Union locations, with inbound remittances from the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and United Arab Emirates. (safaricom.co.ke) That makes onboarding a product question as much as a support question: a remittance user abroad may not fit the same assumptions as a customer signing in from Nairobi on Safaricom data. TechCabal said the mobile-data requirement during setup could exclude users who depend on Wi‑Fi or third-party data. (techcabal.com) The episode also fed a wider payments debate now running across African finance: whether banks should build every digital rail themselves or work with specialist financial technology companies. Industry groups and payments firms have argued that bank-fintech partnerships help lenders expand digital reach faster and deliver cross-border services more efficiently. (bankingjournal.aba.com) (inpay.com) Safaricom has said it will support customers through the transition and keep improving the app as problems emerge. The immediate test is simpler: whether a platform built to unify M-PESA and telecom services can also log in the customers who use it farthest from home. (techcabal.com)