System Upgrade: Airtel Announces Mobile Money Service Interruption on May 3rd
- Airtel Kenya is set to conduct a system upgrade on Airtel Money system in a plan that will leave customers without its services during the period under maintenance
- The system upgrade by Airtel Kenya will start on Saturday, May 3, at 11pm and end on Sunday, May 4 at 11am
- The firm has been conducting a continuous system upgrade of its Airtel Money services to offer customers better services
Bonface Kanyamwaya, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than 10 years of financial, economic, business, markets, and aviation expertise, providing insights into Kenya and global trends.
Airtel Kenya will be conducting a system upgrade on its Airtel Money system this weekend in a plan aimed at offering its customers a better service.
Source: Getty Images
The system upgrade by Airtel Kenya whose customers are now spending more time on single on-net calls than Safaricom customers will take place from Saturday, May 3 at 11pm and end on Sunday, May 4 at 11am.
The firm said that during the period of maintenance, all Airtel Money services will be unavailable in a plan that looks set to inconvenience subscribers.
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"This last phase is scheduled for May 3rd 2025 from 11pm to May 4th 2025 11am. During this time, ALL Airtel Money services will be unavailable. We understand that the downtime may cause temporary inconvenience, and we sincerely apologise for the disruption," said the telco in a public notice which was posted on its X account on Tuesday, April 29.
Why is Airtel Kenya carrying out a system maintenance?
The firm said in the notice that it was carrying out the last phase of its mobile money system upgrade to enhance customer experience ad improve its capabilities to deliver more innovative products and solutions.
To reward customers who will be impacted by the Airtel Money switch off during the period of the upgrade, once services are back, all bank to Airtel Money transactions, paybill payments and agent withdrawals will immediately qualify you for 100% Cashback of the transaction fee as airtime until Sunday, May 4 at midnight.
"Thank You for being a part of our journey as we continue to innovate and grow together," said the company in the notice it sent out to its customers on Tuesday, April 29.
Source: Getty Images
Airtel Money books 3 million customers
In other news, Airtel Kenya is switching off its mobile money services for upgrade starting Saturday, May 3, barely a few months after data from the telco's regulator showed a significant increase in the number of Airtel subscribers.
A report from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) showed that in the quarter between October and December 2024, the telco's mobile money services, Airtel Money, had gained ground against Safaricom's M-Pesa, hitting three million customers.
During the period under review, Airtel money's market share increased 8.8% up from 7.6% reported in the first quarter of 2024/25.
CA said in the report that SIM subscription hit 21,517,842, translating to a market share of 30.15%, compared to 20,740,558 subscribers reported in the first quarter ending September 2024.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
