Safaricom has addressed concerns raised by Kenyans about money being deducted from their M-PESA accounts for the Social Health Authority (SHA) without a PIN prompt. The company clarifies that this is not a security flaw but a feature of the M-PESA Ratiba service, a standing order facility that allows for pre-authorized automatic deductions.

• The controversy began when an X user reported automatic SHA deductions from their mother's M-PESA account after registering for Lipa Mdogo Mdogo.
• Safaricom stated that if M-PESA Ratiba is activated and enabled for auto-deduction, payments can occur without a PIN prompt because authorization was given during the initial setup.
• M-PESA Ratiba allows users to automate recurring payments through My Subscriptions, where a PIN is entered once during setup for pre-authentication.
• Users can check and manage their active standing orders by dialing *334# (Option 9) or via the M-PESA Ratiba Mini-App on the M-PESA Super App.