Safaricom explains how SHA can deduct money from M-Pesa without prompting for PIN
By Mustafa Juma, January 12, 2026Safaricom has come out to explain how the Social Health Authority (SHA) can deduct money from users’ M-PESA accounts without prompting them to enter a PIN.
This is after an M-PESA user took to social media on Monday, January 12, 2026, to express concerns after the national health insurer started deducting money directly from his account following his enrollment in the SHA Lipa Mdogo Mdogo service.
The X user, @UCollince, argued that SHA has been deducting money from his account without prompting him to enter an M-PESA PIN.
“Good morning, @SafaricomPLC. Kindly explain how @_shakenya is able to deduct money from our M-Pesa accounts without prompting us to enter our PIN. This started happening after we registered for the Lipa Mdogo Mdogo service. We need clarification on how this authorization works,” he expressed his concerns, demanding an explanation from Safaricom.
Safaricom clarifies SHA deductions
Responding to the concerns, the telco explained that the incident can happen if a user has activated M-PESA Ratiba, which is a standing order service on M-PESA, and enabled SHA to auto-deduct.
According to Safaricom, the deduction can happen without prompting for the PIN.
“Hello Collince, apologies for that. If you have activated M-PESA Ratiba, which is a standing order service on M-PESA, and enabled SHA to auto deduct, this can happen without prompting for the PIN,” Safaricom explained.
M-PESA Ratiba
Safaricom’s Mobile Money Platform, M-PESA, in October 2024, introduced M-PESA Ratiba, a first-of-its-kind mobile money feature that would allow users to set up standing orders directly from their M-PESA wallets, enabling seamless and automatic payments of recurring transactions and bills.
The feature allows users to automatically transfer funds from their wallet on a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis to another person or to pay recurring bills or subscriptions.
Other benefits include a simple and seamless setup process and no penalties incurred for cancelled or failed standing order transfers that may occur due to insufficient balance.
With M-PESA Ratiba, you can set up a regular payment for rent, school fees, insurance, newspaper subscriptions or other standard utility bill payments, as well as upkeep for your loved ones.