Kenya’s leading telecommunications operator, Safaricom, has introduced a quiet but potentially far reaching change to the architecture of its flagship mobile money platform, M-PESA, as it pilots a new mini app designed to allow controlled third party spending from a single wallet. The feature, known as Shiriki Pay, was added in January 2026 to the M PESA super app and is being positioned as an experiment in delegated spending without transferring ownership of funds.
Shiriki Pay allows a wallet holder to nominate up to two beneficiaries who can pay merchants directly from the sponsor’s balance, subject to a preset monthly cap. Rather than transferring money outright, the sponsor retains control of the funds while granting limited spending authority. The arrangement is activated within the Financial Services tab of the super app, where users accept terms and authenticate via PIN or fingerprint before adding beneficiaries through their Safaricom phone numbers. Each beneficiary receives a notification confirming the setup and the assigned monthly limit.
Under the model, beneficiaries can initiate payments through existing M PESA merchant channels, including Buy Goods for retail tills, Paybill for institutions such as schools and utilities, and Pochi la Biashara for informal traders. Payments are deducted in real time from the sponsor’s wallet, with monthly limits resetting at the end of each cycle. Although the feature is primarily framed around merchant transactions, beneficiaries are also able to initiate peer to peer transfers, expanding its functional scope beyond merchant only payments.
Unlike standing orders managed through Ratiba, another M PESA mini app that automates fixed recurring payments, Shiriki Pay leaves discretion with the beneficiary. While Ratiba executes predetermined transactions on a defined schedule, Shiriki Pay operates within a flexible boundary defined by the sponsor’s spending cap. The structure functions as a permissions layer rather than a separate sub wallet, meaning funds are not ring fenced in advance and liquidity remains centralised in the sponsor’s account.
Industry observers note that the innovation reflects the realities of many Kenyan households, where a central income earner often redistributes funds to family members. By replacing upfront transfers with controlled allowances, Safaricom may be responding to tightening household budgets while also anchoring transaction flows within its merchant rails. However, with a cap of two beneficiaries and limited spending analytics, questions remain over whether Shiriki Pay will evolve into a broader shared wallet ecosystem or remain a niche budgeting tool within the M PESA platform’s growing suite of more than 60 mini apps.