Safaricom has introduced M‑Pesa Jumbe, a split‑notification system for Lipa na M‑Pesa, pay‑bill and Pochi la Biashara merchants across Kenya.

The service lets a merchant designate up to 50 staff members per shortcode to receive instant SMS alerts that show only the amount, business name, shortcode, reference, date, time and a customer alias called a JumbeID.

Customers receive a separate receipt that hides their full name, phone number and M‑Pesa balance, displaying only the transaction code, amount, business name, till number and timestamp.

Each payment triggers three near‑simultaneous SMS messages: a full notification to the merchant owner, limited alerts to nominated staff, and the privacy‑safe receipt to the payer.

The JumbeID alias is generated from the first initials of the customer’s first and last names plus the last two digits of their phone number, e.g., NK_74 for Nancy Kamau with a number ending in 74.

Safaricom acknowledges that the alias is not fully anonymous and that occasional duplicate aliases may occur, but the unique transaction reference remains the definitive verification tool.

To activate Jumbe, merchants dial *234# to open the M‑Pesa Jumbe menu or use the M‑Pesa Business Hub; only the primary account administrator can configure the service.

Each nominated staff member must accept an SMS invitation before alerts are sent to their device, and the system works on basic feature phones via SMS and USSD.

Safaricom’s Acting Chief Financial Services Officer Boniface Mungania said the feature addresses an operational gap for multi‑counter businesses, and a future update will add support in the M‑Pesa Business App.

The service is offered at no charge, requires no registration or opt‑in from customers, and forms part of Safaricom’s broader privacy push following Kenya’s Data Protection Act.