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M-PESA Jumbe: split notifications for tills and paybills

How Safaricom's Jumbe messages give shop staff a limited payment alert and give customers a receipt that hides their number, and how a merchant sets it up.

DW
by Reviewed by Josephine Njeri 6 min read Updated 5 November 2026Verified 05 Nov 2026

Who gets which message

WhoSent byWhat it contains
The merchant (primary number)M-PESAThe full transaction notification, as before
Nominated staffJumbeA limited alert: reference, amount, business name, shortcode, the customer's JumbeID, date and time
The paying customerJumbeA receipt with the amount, reference and their own JumbeID, on top of their normal M-PESA message

Staff never see the merchant's balance, history or PIN, or the customer's full name or phone number. Safaricom introduced it to fix three problems: staff had no way to confirm a payment without calling the owner or asking customers to show their own M-PESA message, owners were interrupted to verify payments, and customers who showed their message were exposing personal details such as their balance.

What a JumbeID is

A JumbeID replaces your name and phone number in every Jumbe message. Safaricom builds it from your first initial, your last initial and the last two digits of your phone number. Someone with the initials N and K whose number ends in 74 would be NK_74.

Two customers can end up with the same JumbeID. When that happens, the transaction reference is what tells the payments apart, so always look at the reference and not just the ID.

If you are the customer

  • You do not register or opt in. The Jumbe receipt arrives automatically when you pay a merchant that uses the feature.
  • You still get your normal M-PESA message. The Jumbe one is the extra, privacy-safe message you can show at the counter without exposing your name, number or balance.
  • You are not required to show your standard M-PESA message to prove you paid. Show the Jumbe receipt instead.

This works alongside the masking that already applies to money you receive. See why M-PESA now hides the sender's number.

If you run the till or paybill

These are the steps Safaricom describes.

  1. Switch it on as the Admin. Only the Admin role, meaning the primary operator or nominated number, can opt a shortcode in. You must accept the terms first, once for each shortcode, and again if Safaricom updates them.
  2. Pick your channel. Safaricom's FAQ says it is live on USSD (*234#) and the Merchant Business Hub, and that the M-PESA Business App “will be deployed later”. Check the app before you rely on it.
  3. Add each staff member. Choose the shortcode, enter the person's name and Safaricom number, and confirm with your M-PESA PIN.
  4. Wait for their consent. The staff member gets an SMS with an acceptance code and must accept it by dialling the USSD code in that message. No alerts start until they do. If they do not accept in time, the nomination expires and you can send it again.

Rules to know before you add people

  • The limit is 50 recipients per shortcode. Active and suspended people both count. Deleted ones do not.
  • Only active Safaricom numbers registered on M-PESA work. A till or paybill cannot be a recipient.
  • On the Merchant Business Hub, adding, editing, suspending, reactivating and deleting recipients follow your business approval rules, and the person who makes a change cannot approve it.
  • Suspend stops alerts at once but keeps the person on the list, and you can reactivate them without a new consent. Remove is permanent: they must be nominated again and agree again.
  • If you typed a wrong number, remove it straight away. The wrong person can simply decline, and no alerts go to anyone who has not accepted. You are responsible for the numbers you submit.
  • If a staff member changes number, remove the old one and nominate the new one. If they lose a phone, suspend or remove them. Safaricom says a lost phone only exposes incoming Jumbe alerts, not any M-PESA account.
  • You keep getting the full standard M-PESA message on your primary number.

If you are the staff member

You get one short alert per payment: reference, amount, business name, shortcode, the customer's JumbeID and the time. You do not get balances or any personal customer details.

You can manage this yourself without asking the owner. Dial the USSD string in your nomination SMS, or dial *234# and choose option 2, Manage Split Notifications. You will see each shortcode you are on, marked active or inactive.

PauseOpt out
What it doesStops alerts from that shortcode for nowRemoves you from that shortcode for good
Can you undo it yourself?Yes, activate again by USSDNo, the merchant must nominate you again and you must agree again
Is the merchant told?NoYes

There are also Suspend All, Activate All and Opt Out All options for every shortcode at once. Pausing is meant for leave or time off shift. Pausing or opting out of one shortcode does not affect the others.

Things to keep in mind

  • Alerts arrive in near real time, but Safaricom does not promise delivery within a set time, because it depends on the SMS network.
  • If a shortcode is deactivated, split notifications stop immediately. Safaricom says the recipient list is kept and can be restored if the shortcode is reactivated, subject to its policy.
  • Safaricom says the feature follows data minimisation under the Data Protection Act 2019, and that consent and removal events are logged.

Running a shop? Our M-PESA for retail shops guide covers tills and paybills, and M-PESA scams in 2026 covers the tricks to watch for at the counter.

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