Safaricom Recovers KES 2.65 Billion in Inflated M-PESA Commissions Over Two Years, Fires 118 Employees

Safaricom recovered KES 953 million in inflated M-PESA agent commissions during the year ended March 2026 as it intensified its crackdown on fraud across the business.

The crackdown also resulted in 118 employees being dismissed over fraud-related misconduct, up from 113 a year earlier. Another 14 fraud-related cases were referred to law enforcement, twice the number recorded in the previous financial year, according to Safaricom's 2026 Sustainable Business Report.

Much of the money recovered came from irregular payments within the M-PESA agent network. Agents earn commissions for handling transactions such as cash deposits and withdrawals, and Safaricom says it uses proactive monitoring and data analytics to identify suspicious payments. The report does not explain exactly how the commissions became inflated or how long the irregular payments continued before they were detected.

This is not the first time Safaricom has recovered a large amount from irregular agent payments. A year earlier, it recovered KES 1.7 billion, considerably more than the KES 953 million recorded in the latest financial year. Across the two years, the recoveries amount to approximately KES 2.65 billion, although Safaricom has not said whether the decline in the latest year reflects fewer irregular payments, smaller amounts or faster detection.

The employee dismissals show that Safaricom's fraud crackdown extends beyond its agent network. The 118 dismissals marked the fourth consecutive year that fraud-related employee dismissals increased. Safaricom has not linked the affected employees to the inflated M-PESA commissions, and the disclosures should therefore be treated as separate parts of its wider fraud response.

Fraud also remained the most common concern reported through Safaricom's ethics hotline during the year. Suspected cases can be identified through internal monitoring systems, customer complaints and other reporting channels before investigations determine whether disciplinary action or referral to law enforcement is necessary.

Despite the increase in dismissals and police referrals, Safaricom reported an 82% reduction in fraud incidents during the year, short of its 90% target. The figures measure different parts of the problem, so fewer reported incidents can still occur alongside more dismissals as investigations into individual cases are completed.

How inflated M-PESA agent commissions became large enough for Safaricom to recover KES 953 million in a single year, after recovering KES 1.7 billion the year before is still a mystery to me.