After an unexpected hiccup that left some of you stranded without data bundles last night, Airtel Kenya has resolved the issue affecting bundle purchases through M-PESA. In an update posted just this morning, Airtel assured its customers that the M-PESA bundle-buying option is back up and running smoothly.
The company had initially acknowledged the glitch, which frustrated many users who depend on the convenience of M-PESA payments to top up their Airtel data. Airtel recommended that customers switch to Airtel Money as a temporary fix while their technical team worked to resolve the issue.
Airtel’s swift fix comes at an interesting time. Across town, Safaricom is facing criticism following a Nation Africa report alleging that the telecom giant has cooperated with authorities in tracking Kenyan citizens, thus aiding in locating political activists and dissenting voices. While Safaricom users stew over privacy concerns, Airtel is seizing the opportunity to .
If you’re on Airtel and were affected by the M-PESA outage, you can now buy bundles by dialing *544# or *334# and selecting either Airtel Money or M-PESA for payment. Airtel’s proactive response and speedy resolution should relieve Kenyans navigating the digital world — and maybe even gain them a few fans amid the Safaricom saga.
