Is M-PESA down? Status, fallback, fixes
When M-PESA is degraded, paybill, till, send money, and withdrawals all fail. Check before assuming the issue is on your end.
Step 1: confirm it is actually M-PESA
Most users assume an outage when the issue is on their end. The first 60 seconds of diagnosis save the most time. Run these 4 checks in order:
- 1
Check Safaricom signal
Make a voice call. If voice fails too, it is a network issue, not M-PESA-specific. See the Safaricom status page.
- 2
Try *334# (older menu)
The classic menu sometimes works when *144#, the M-PESA app, or STK push are degraded. Both share the same backend, but *334# has lighter middleware.
- 3
Check the recipient name
If a paybill is returning a name but failing on confirm, the issue may be merchant-side (paybill suspended, daily cap reached) rather than M-PESA-wide.
- 4
Test a small send
Send KES 10 to a known number. If it succeeds, your account is fine and the previous failure was transaction-specific.
Common symptoms of a M-PESA outage
If you are seeing one or more of these, it is likely service-wide rather than your account:
- Send money returns "Service unavailable" or MR101
- Paybill payments time out, no SMS confirmation
- Till "Buy Goods" rejects with generic failure
- STK push from a merchant never reaches your phone
- Daraja API timeouts for businesses
- M-PESA app stuck on splash screen or "loading"
Step 2: check official channels for live status
M-PESA typically posts outage acknowledgments here. Most incidents are announced within 15 to 60 minutes:
- Safaricom X (Twitter)
- Safaricom Facebook
- Customer care 100 (Safaricom line)
- safaricare@safaricom.co.ke
Step 3: use a fallback while M-PESA recovers
Ranked by usefulness during M-PESA degradation:
Airtel Money
For urgent peer-to-peer transfers within the Airtel network, or for bill paybills that accept Airtel Money.
Bank app (Equity, KCB, Co-op, Absa)
For paybill payments, the bank app routes via PesaLink or directly to the merchant. Often works during partial M-PESA outages.
PesaLink
Inter-bank instant transfer. Useful when sending money to someone who has a bank account.
Cash withdrawal at an agent
During app or STK outages, agents can sometimes still process via their direct merchant lines. Worth asking.
Common errors during M-PESA outages
| Error | What it means |
|---|---|
| MR101 | Service currently unavailable, Safaricom-side |
| MR102 | Unable to complete transaction, generic failure |
| MR105 | Cannot pay using Lipa na M-PESA, merchant config issue |
| Generic | "Sorry, transaction failed", weak network or middleware timeout |
When M-PESA outages tend to cluster
Major M-PESA outages typically last 30 minutes to 4 hours and are concentrated around month-end salary settlement days, public holidays, and after Safaricom platform upgrades. Smaller regional degradations (one part of Nairobi affected, others fine) usually resolve within 60 minutes without an official announcement.
FAQ
Is M-PESA down right now?
paybillke does not run live monitoring on M-PESA, so this page cannot show real-time status. The fastest live signal is Safaricom X (Twitter), which typically posts within 15 to 60 minutes of a confirmed incident. Use the self-check steps on this page to verify the issue is service-wide, not your account or device.
What should I do when M-PESA is down?
Step 1: run the 4-step self-check on this page to confirm it is M-PESA side, not yours. Step 2: check the official channels for an acknowledged incident. Step 3: pick a fallback (this page lists the ranked options for M-PESA). Step 4: if money is at stake, contact M-PESA support with transaction codes ready.
Why does M-PESA fail most often?
Major M-PESA outages typically last 30 minutes to 4 hours and are concentrated around month-end salary settlement days, public holidays, and after Safaricom platform upgrades. Smaller regional degradations (one part of Nairobi affected, others fine) usually resolve within 60 minutes without an official announcement.
What is the M-PESA customer care number?
100. The official channels list above includes the support email and social handles. For urgent money-at-stake issues, the phone line gets faster results than email.
Was this page useful during your outage?
We refresh status pages quarterly and within 24 hours of any major shift in outage patterns. Report something that should be on this page and we will add it within 48 hours.