Payments to a Pochi la Biashara wallet cannot be reversed without the merchant’s explicit consent, a safeguard introduced to protect businesses from fraudulent reversals.

The quickest remedy is to contact the merchant directly, explain the error and provide the M‑Pay transaction code so they can approve the reversal through their M‑Pay menu or Business App.

If the merchant is unreachable or refuses, forward the original confirmation SMS to shortcode 456; Safaricom will flag the transaction for reversal and send a follow‑up confirmation SMS.

Self‑service reversals via SMS to 456 are usually processed within 24 hours, while the overall reversal can take from a few minutes up to 48 hours depending on the case.

You can also initiate a reversal through the M‑Pay app by selecting the erroneous transaction, tapping “Report”, choosing “Reverse”, and confirming with your PIN; this works only for very recent transactions.

If the merchant has already withdrawn the funds, file a police OB report, email mpesafraud@safaricom.co.ke and provide the OB number to Safaricom, which can then freeze the amount and return it to the sender.

Safaricom’s customer‑care lines (100 for prepaid, 200 for postpaid, or 234 for any line) can mediate the reversal, contacting the merchant on your behalf and checking whether any service was delivered.

A merchant who refuses to reverse an erroneous payment may face criminal liability under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, including up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of Ksh200,000.

For the best chance of success, submit a reversal request within 24 hours of the transaction; the formal claim window extends to seven days, after which Safaricom only acts on fraud escalations.

Before contacting anyone, gather the transaction code, the recipient’s phone number, the exact amount, date and time, and keep the original confirmation SMS and your M‑Pay PIN handy.