Recently, a question circulating among M-Pesa users sparked concern about automatic deductions by the Social Health Fund (SHA) without requiring a M-Pesa PIN.
A user, Sir Limo (@araplimo39), asked Safaricom on X (formerly Twitter), “Is SHA making automatic deductions from M-Pesa without needing the M-Pesa PIN?”
Safaricom’s official handle, @Safaricom_Care, responded promptly to clarify the situation.
“Hello @araplimo39, no it’s not. However, 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,” replied the handler with the abbreviate WG.
What This Means for Users
M-Pesa Ratiba is a standing order service that allows users to schedule regular payments for services or subscriptions.
When a user authorizes SHA to deduct funds via this service, the transactions can occur automatically without requiring a PIN for each payment.
This clarification should reassure users that SHA does not arbitrarily withdraw money from accounts.
Automatic deductions only happen when explicitly enabled through M-Pesa Ratiba, ensuring users remain in control of their funds.
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